Massachusetts unemployment figures are compiled from a monthly report published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is a division of the federal Department of Labor. In addition to organizing Mass. unemployment data for the state, MA unemployment information about specific metropolitan areas is also assembled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The major metropolitan areas that are included in a Mass. unemployment report are:
· the Barnstable Town, MA metropolitan area,
· the Boston- Cambridge- Quincy, MA- NH metropolitan area,
· the Brockton- Bridgewater- Easton, MA metropolitan area,
· the Framingham, MA metropolitan area,
· the Haverhill- North Andover- Amesbury, MA- NH metropolitan area,
· the Lawrence- Methuen- Salem, MA- NH metropolitan area,
· the Leominster- Fitchburg- Gardner, MA metropolitan area,
· the Lowell- Billerica- Chelmsford, MA- NH metropolitan area,
· the Nashua, NH- MA metropolitan area,
· the New Bedford, MA metropolitan area,
· the Peabody, MA metropolitan area,
· the Pittsfield, MA metropolitan area,
· the Providence- Fall River- Warwick, RI- MA metropolitan area,
· the Springfield, MA- CT metropolitan area,
· the Taunton- Norton- Raynham, MA metropolitan area,
· and the Worcester, MA- CT metropolitan area.
MA unemployment figures indicate that the Civilian Labor Force, the number of unemployed individuals, and the Mass. unemployment rate have all fallen over the period between March 2010 and August 2010. At the same time, the reports published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics that includes this information also indicates that the level of employment in the state has risen as well.