New Bedford, Massachusetts Unemployment

The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for New Bedford fell 0.0 percentage points in July 2019 to 4.4%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 1.5 percentage points higher than the Massachusetts rate. The unemployment rate in New Bedford peaked in December 2009 at 13.0% and is now 8.6 percentage points lower. From a post peak low of 4.2% in March 2019, the unemployment rate has now grown by 0.2 percentage points. You can also compare New Bedford unemployment with unemployment in other cities.

Unemployment Rate	July 2019	Month/Month	Year/Year
National	3.7%	0.0	-0.2
Massachusetts	2.9%	-0.1	-0.4
New Bedford	4.4%	0.0	-0.8

Note: Metro level data is now seasonally adjusted.¹ All comparisons are made with July 2019 data as August metro level unemployment data has not yet been released.

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 January 2010 at 10,174. There are now 6,354 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. From a recent trough of 3,667 in April 2019, the number of unemployed has now grown by 153.

Unemployed Persons	July 2019	Month/Month	Year/Year
New Bedford	3,820	-4	-686

Number of Unemployed Persons

New Bedford, Massachusetts Unemployment History

Date	National Unemployment Rate	Massachusetts Unemployment Rate	New Bedford Unemployment Rate	New Bedford Unemployed
September 2019	3.5%	—	—	—
August 2019	3.7%	2.9%	—	—
July 2019	3.7%	2.9%	4.4%	3,820
June 2019	3.7%	3.0%	4.4%	3,824
May 2019	3.6%	3.0%	4.3%	3,769
April 2019	3.6%	2.9%	4.2%	3,667
March 2019	3.8%	3.0%	4.2%	3,709
February 2019	3.8%	3.0%	4.4%	3,812
January 2019	4.0%	3.1%	4.6%	3,977
December 2018	3.9%	3.1%	4.7%	4,105
November 2018	3.7%	3.1%	4.7%	4,092
October 2018	3.8%	3.1%	4.7%	4,109