Vermont's higher jobless rate for June wasn't supposed to include IBM layoffs. But a state official it may have had an impact on the rate.
The Labor Department's Mathew Barewicz notes that while the IBM gave 419 workers layoff notices in June, their last day on the payroll was in July.
That means those job losses shouldn't show up until the July unemployment numbers are released in August.
But Barewicz also says the unemployment numbers are collected through a telephone survey of households. And he says some of those responding to the June survey may have been IBM workers who counted themselves as unemployed even though they weren't actually out of work yet.
