Vermont’s unemployment rate was 3.3 percent in September, showing no change since August.
Vermont was tied with Hawaii for was the fifth-lowest in the country, behind New Hampshire (2.9 percent), South Dakota (2.9 percent), North Dakota (3 percent), and Nebraska (3.2 percent), according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The national unemployment rate was 5 percent in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Public Assets Institute, a liberal think tank, reports that Vermont saw a 1.2 percent increase in the number of private sector jobs that are available, and that number is the same as the national average.
The think tank also said that unemployment rates in New England are lower than the national unemployment rate, but both Massachusetts and New Hampshire have been adding jobs the fastest.
“Preliminary data for the first three quarters of 2016 show a stable economy in Vermont and a continuation of the positive economic growth seen in 2015,” said Annie Noonan, the commissioner of the Vermont Department of Labor.
Noonan said the country has seen “an extended period of economic expansion” albeit at a slow pace, and Vermont’s economy has followed the national trend.
“Vermont employers are hiring for vacancies at all skill levels, so this is an excellent time for people to be applying for jobs,” she said. “The Department of Labor has many programs that can provide a job seeker with job counseling, skill training and placement support to connect job seekers to these vacancies.”
