By Erin Mansfield, VTDigger.org
Vermont’s unemployment rate fell again in April to a seasonally adjusted 3.6 percent. The drop from 3.8 percent in March is statistically significant, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Vermont is now tied with South Dakota for the fourth lowest unemployment rate in the U.S.
The unemployment rate expresses the percentage of people over age 16 who are actively seeking work but cannot find employment. The national unemployment rate is 5.4 percent.
Gov. Peter Shumlin also said that Vermont added 1,800 jobs in April, 7,000 jobs since last year, and 16,800 jobs since he took office in 2011. Shumlin said the news “coincides with continued job growth.”
“We still have a lot of work to do to make Vermont’s economy work for every single [Vermonter], but today’s news shows we are moving in the right direction,” he said.
According to BLS, 22 other states saw their unemployment rates decrease in April.
