New Bedford, Massachusetts Unemployment
The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for New Bedford fell 0.3 percentage points in April 2022 to 5.6%. 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 April 2020 at 24.1% and is now 18.5 percentage points lower. You can also compare New Bedford unemployment with unemployment in other cities.
| Unemployment Rate | April 2022 | Month/Month | Year/Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| National | 3.6% | 0.0 | -2.4 |
| Massachusetts | 4.1% | -0.2 | -2.2 |
| New Bedford | 5.6% | -0.3 | -2.3 |
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 19,305. There are now 14,551 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area.
| Unemployed Persons | April 2022 | Month/Month | Year/Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Bedford | 4,754 | -212 | -1,929 |
Number of Unemployed Persons
New Bedford, Massachusetts Unemployment History
| Date | National Unemployment Rate |
Massachusetts Unemployment Rate |
New Bedford Unemployment Rate |
New Bedford Unemployed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2022 |
3.6% | — | — | — |
| April 2022 |
3.6% | 4.1% | 5.6% | 4,754 |
| March 2022 |
3.6% | 4.3% | 5.9% | 4,966 |
| February 2022 |
3.8% | 4.7% | 6.2% | 5,286 |
| January 2022 |
4.0% | 4.8% | 6.6% | 5,560 |
| December 2021 |
3.9% | 4.6% | 6.8% | 5,744 |
| November 2021 |
4.2% | 4.8% | 6.8% | 5,734 |
| October 2021 |
4.6% | 5.0% | 6.8% | 5,747 |
| September 2021 |
4.7% | 5.1% | 6.9% | 5,863 |
| August 2021 |
5.2% | 5.5% | 7.1% | 6,033 |
| July 2021 |
5.4% | 5.7% | 7.3% | 6,233 |
| June 2021 |
5.9% | 6.0% | 7.6% | 6,410 |
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.
