Highest Unemployment Rates for RI & MA
October 2013
Four of the Hot Spots from September showed up as part of the top five Unemployment Hot Spots for the month of October. Central Falls, Fall River, New Bedford, and Lawrence were among the returnees, coincidently all four showed signs of improvement. Lawrence still being the leader during October, fell one whole percent from September’s 15% UE rate but is still nearly double that of the Massachusetts rate of 7.1%. New Bedford dropped by .7%, and Fall River by .7%. Central Falls deceased by 5% but was still higher than the Rhode Island state average 9.2%. Provincetown showed up on the list after it knocked out Providence with 11.5% unemployment rate. This is a large leap for Provincetown which only had 7.5% in September. The coastal areas and industrial areas seem to be experiencing the peak of unemployment.