New England as a whole has a lower unemployment rate than the national average, according to new local data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
New England’s unemployment rate, through September, is 8.4 percent, compared to a 9.6 percent national unemployment rate. Massachusetts’ unemployment rate was even with that of the region at 8.4 percent.
New Hampshire has the lowest unemployment rate in New England at 5.5 percent, followed by Vermont (5.8 %) and Maine (7.7 %).
Rhode Island has the fifth highest unemployment rate in the country, and the highest in New England, at 11.5 percent.
