Vermont's unemployment rate was up in June for the first time in ten months, according to a new report from the state Department of Labor. The state’s 3.5 percent unemployment rate is still well below the national average of 6.1 percent.
Labor Commissioner Annie Noonan said in a release that the uptick is consistent with data from previous years.
“If historical patterns hold,” she said, “this temporary period of adjustment should be present for the next month or two before returning to the recent downward trend.”
In June of 2013, the state’s unemployment rate was 4.4 percent.
The new data also shows a seasonally-adjusted decrease of 1,600 jobs – much of that loss coming from the leisure and hospitality industry, which shed 1,100 jobs since May.
In June, the highest jobless rate in the state was in Newport, which had 5.4 percent unemployment. Hartford had the lowest rate with 2.7 percent of the workforce unemployed.
The Burlington-South Burlington area, which makes up about one third of the state’s labor force, matches the state average with 3.5 percent unemployment.
