New Bedford, Massachusetts Unemployment
The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for New Bedford rose 0.1 percentage points in February 2021 to 7.9%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.8 percentage points higher than the Massachusetts rate. The unemployment rate in New Bedford peaked in April 2020 at 22.3% and is now 14.4 percentage points lower. From a post peak low of 7.5% in November 2020, the unemployment rate has now grown by 0.4 percentage points. You can also compare New Bedford unemployment with unemployment in other cities.
| Unemployment Rate | February 2021 | Month/Month | Year/Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| National | 6.2% | -0.1 | +2.7 |
| Massachusetts | 7.1% | -0.7 | +4.3 |
| New Bedford | 7.9% | +0.1 | +3.8 |
Unemployment Rate: New Bedford, Massachusetts, National
Note: Recessions shown in gray.
New Bedford, Massachusetts Unemployed
The number of people unemployed in New Bedford peaked in April 2020 at 18,708. There are now 12,079 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. From a recent trough of 6,170 in November 2020, the number of unemployed has now grown by 459.
| Unemployed Persons | February 2021 | Month/Month | Year/Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Bedford | 6,629 | +122 | +3,038 |
Number of Unemployed Persons
New Bedford, Massachusetts Unemployment History
| Date | National Unemployment Rate |
Massachusetts Unemployment Rate |
New Bedford Unemployment Rate |
New Bedford Unemployed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2021 |
6.0% | — | — | — |
| February 2021 |
6.2% | 7.1% | 7.9% | 6,629 |
| January 2021 |
6.3% | 7.8% | 7.8% | 6,507 |
| December 2020 |
6.7% | 8.4% | 8.6% | 7,148 |
| November 2020 |
6.7% | 8.4% | 7.5% | 6,170 |
| October 2020 |
6.9% | 8.5% | 8.2% | 6,772 |
| September 2020 |
7.8% | 8.9% | 11.3% | 9,771 |
| August 2020 |
8.4% | 9.3% | 13.3% | 10,826 |
| July 2020 |
10.2% | 9.8% | 18.9% | 16,086 |
| June 2020 |
11.1% | 14.8% | 21.2% | 18,556 |
| May 2020 |
13.3% | 15.3% | 21.7% | 18,600 |
| April 2020 |
14.8% | 16.4% | 22.3% | 18,708 |
1. Metro area unemployment rates are now seasonally adjusted. The BLS has started publishing smoothed seasonally adjusted metropolitan area data which makes comparisons to state and national data more relevant than the unadjusted numbers. ↩
Department of Numbers
The Department of Numbers contextualizes public data so that individuals can form independent opinions on everyday social and economic matters.
