New England unemployment rate unchanged

The unemployment rate in New England, at 4.8 percent in March 2008, was essentially unchanged over the month, according to a report issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor.

Though little changed since February, the New England unemployment rate has risen 0.4 percentage point over the last three months. The U.S. jobless rate in March, at 5.1 percent, was up 0.3 percentage point since February. Since March 2007, the jobless rates for New England and the nation have increased, up 0.4 and 0.7 percentage point, respectively.

In March, two New England states posted jobless rates significantly different from that of the U.S. The jobless rate in New Hampshire, at 3.9 percent, was measurably lower than nationwide average. By contrast, the unemployment rate in Rhode Island, at 6.1 percent, was measurably higher than the U.S. average. Rhode Island was one of only five states, along with the District of Columbia, to have an unemployment rate higher than the nationwide average.

Among the remaining New England states, jobless rates ranges from 4.4 percent in Massachusetts to 5.3 percent in Connecticut, but statistically, none of these rates differed significantly from the national rate