Unemployment Rate up, but More People Working
The seemingly conflicting pair of statistics exists due to the total number of people working and looking for work increasing.
More Attleboro residents were working in March than were in February, according to statistics released Tuesday by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. However, the statistics also show an increase in the unemployment rate. This is because the labor force (a combination of those who are working and those actively looking for work) increased from February to March and a smaller percentage of the labor force had jobs in March. The number of Attleboro residents with jobs in March was 22,325. The number was 22,249 in February and 22,504 in March 2012. This translates to unemployment rates of 9.4 percent in March, 8.8 percent in February and 9.8 percent in March 2012.
