NEWS RELEASE. For Immediate Release Contact: Mathew Barewicz, (802) Vermont Unemployment Rate Decreases to 3.

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1 NEWS RELEASE For Immediate Release Contact: Mathew Barewicz, (802) June 17, 2016 Vermont Unemployment Rate Decreases to 3.1 percent in May The Vermont Department of Labor announced today that the seasonally-adjusted statewide unemployment rate for May was 3.1 percent. This represents a decrease of one-tenth of one percentage point from the revised April rate (3.2 percent). The national rate in May was 4.7 percent. As of the prior month s initial data, the Burlington-South Burlington Metropolitan NECTA had the second lowest unemployment rate in the country for all metropolitan areas at 2.1 percent (not-seasonally-adjusted). Overall, Vermont s unemployment rate was tied for fifth lowest in the country for the same time period. May is the tenth consecutive month reporting a decline to the number of unemployed persons in Vermont (seasonally-adjusted). Commissioner s Message In the last year, the Vermont economy has seen employment growth across many sectors. Construction, non-durable manufacturing, professional and business services, health and social services and leisure and hospitality industries have led the way. These gains across diverse economic sectors create a wide variety of employment opportunities for Vermonters of all ages, backgrounds, and skills. The Vermont Department of Labor is partnering with employers, training providers, and educational institutions to make sure the Vermont workforce is able to access current and future openings. In addition, significant work is underway educating young Vermonters about the career opportunities in this state. Connecting Vermont s young people with these opportunities will be the focus of the June 23 rd event at the King Street Youth Center in Burlington. Contact your local Vermont Department of Labor office to learn more, said Labor Commissioner Annie Noonan. Chart 1. Unemployment Rate, seasonally adjusted Percent 9.0 Chart 2. Vermont Nonfarm Payroll Employment Thousands United States New England Vermont Unadjusted Seasonally Adjusted 2.0 May-14 Aug-14 Nov-14 Feb-15 May-15 Aug-15 Nov-15 Feb-16 May May-14 Aug-14 Nov-14 Feb-15 May-15 Aug-15 Nov-15 Feb-16 May-16

2 State of Vermont Overview The Vermont seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate declined by one-tenth of one percentage point in May to a statewide average of 3.1 percent. The United States rate is 4.7 percent, a decrease of three tenths of one percentage point compared to the revised April estimate. The seasonallyadjusted Vermont data for May show the Vermont civilian labor force increased by 450 from the prior month s revised estimate. The number of employed increased by 700 and the number of unemployed decreased by 200. None of the over-the-month changes were statistically significant in the seasonally-adjusted series. The May unemployment rates for Vermont s 17 labor market areas ranged from 2.1 percent in Burlington-South Burlington and White River Junction to 4.8 percent in Woodstock (note: local labor market area unemployment rates are not seasonally-adjusted). For comparison, the May unadjusted unemployment rate for Vermont was 2.8 percent which reflects a decrease of twotenths of one percentage point from the revised unadjusted April level and a decrease of six-tenths of one percentage point from a year ago. Analysis of Job Changes by Industry Not-Seasonally-Adjusted The preliminary not-seasonally-adjusted jobs estimates for May show an increase of 1,400 jobs when compared to the revised April numbers. There was no change between the preliminary and the revised April estimates due to the inclusion of more data. The monthly increase seen in the May numbers was primarily attributable to the Construction sector. The broader economic trends can be detected by focusing on the over-the-year changes in this data series. As detailed in the preliminary not-seasonally-adjusted May data, Total Private industries have increased by 2,800 jobs (1.1 percent) and Government (including public education) employment has increased by 900 jobs (1.6 percent) in the past year. Seasonally-Adjusted The seasonally-adjusted data for May reports a decrease of 800 jobs from the revised April data. As with the not-seasonally-adjusted data, this over-the-month change is from the revised April numbers which also experienced no change from the preliminary estimates. The seasonallyadjusted over-the-month changes in May were mixed at the sectorial level. Those with a notable percent increase include: Private Educational Services (+200 jobs or +1.5%) and Manufacturing (+200 jobs or +0.7%). Industries with a notable percent decrease include: Arts, Entertainment & Recreation (-400 jobs or -8.5%), Construction (-1,000 jobs or -6.1%), and Wholesale Trade (-200 jobs or -2.1%). The Unemployment and Jobs Report for June is scheduled to be released on Friday, July 22, 2016 at 10:00 a.m.

3 Table 1. Vermont Labor Force Estimates, seasonally adjusted Change From: May April May April May Civilian Labor Force 345, , , Employed 335, , , ,750 Unemployed 10,800 11,000 12, ,800 Unemployment Rate (%) Vermont s labor force, employment and unemployment statistics are produced from a combination of a Statewide survey of households and statistical modeling. The data are produced by the Local Area Unemployment Statistics Program (LAUS), a cooperative program with the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics ( and the Vermont Department of Labor ( Table 2. Vermont Labor Market Areas, Labor Force Estimates not seasonally adjusted Civilian Labor Force Employed Unemployed May-16 Apr-16 May-15 Vermont Total 343, ,600 9, Barre-Montpelier 25,850 25, Bennington 11,100 10, Brattleboro 22,400 21, Burlington-South Burlington 124, ,950 2, Derby 12,500 11, Highgate 10,300 10, Manchester 11,250 10, Middlebury 18,550 18, Morristown-Waterbury 17,200 16, Newbury 2,850 2, Northfield-Waitsfield 6,750 6, Randolph 7,400 7, Rutland 21,800 21, Springfield 10,550 10, St. Johnsbury 13,500 13, White River Junction 19,600 19, Woodstock 3,750 3, Rate is the unrounded estimates for the number of unemployed divided by total labor force, expressed as a percent. Labor Market Area ¹ May 2016 Unemployment Rate² (%) 1 The area names above are common language titles; for official names of areas including encompassing cities and towns please refer to the Vermont Labor Market Area map ( Source: Local Area Unemployment Statistics Program (LAUS) produced by the Vermont Department of Labor ( in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (

4 Table 3. Vermont Nonfarm Employment, seasonally adjusted (thousands) NAICS Industry May-16 Apr-16 May-15 Change From: % Change From: Prelim Revised Revised Apr-16 May-15 Apr-16 May-15 Statewide, Total Nonfarm¹ Total Private Mining, Logging and Construction Mining & Logging Construction Manufacturing Durable Goods Non-Durable Goods Trade, Transportation and Utilities Wholesale Trade Retail Trade Trans., Warehousing & Utilities Financial Activities Finance & Insurance Real Estate, Rental & Leasing Professional and Business Services Professional & Technical Services Administrative & Waste Services Education and Health Services Private Educational Services Health Care & Social Assistance Leisure and Hospitality Arts, Entertainment & Recreation Accommodation & Food Services Other Services Government Federal State Local Burlington-S. Burlington Metro (NECTA) Total Nonfarm ¹Statewide Total Nonfarm is a summed total of major industries. The NAICS industry Information is not published seasonally adjusted because the seasonal component, which is small relative to the trend-cycle and irregular components, cannot be separated with sufficient precision. Source: Current Employment Statistics Program (CES) produced by the Economic and Labor Market Information Division, Vermont Department of Labor ( in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics ( Estimates are preliminary and subject to revision. See Annual Summary for details.

5 Table 4. Vermont Nonfarm Employment, not seasonally adjusted NAICS Industry May-16 Apr-16 May-15 Change From: % Change From: Prelim Revised Revised Apr-16 May-15 Apr-16 May-15 TOTAL NONFARM 314, , ,800 1,400 3, TOTAL PRIVATE 256, , ,500 2,300 2, GOODS-PRODUCING 46,900 45,300 47,400 1, MINING, LOGGING AND CONSTRUCTION 16,500 15,400 16,400 1, Mining & Logging Construction 15,700 14,600 15,600 1, MANUFACTURING 30,400 29,900 31, Durable Goods 19,200 18,900 19, Computer & Electrical Equipment Mfg. 6,200 6,200 6, Fabricated Metal Products Mfg. 2,100 2,000 2, Non-Durable Goods 11,200 11,000 11, Food Mfg. 5,400 5,400 5, SERVICE-PROVIDING 267, , , , TRADE, TRANSPORTATION AND UTILITES 55,700 55,400 55, Wholesale Trade 9,300 9,500 9, Retail Trade 38,300 37,900 37, Food & Beverage Stores 9,800 9,700 9, General Merchandise Stores 3,100 3,100 3, Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities 8,100 8,000 8, Transportation & Warehousing 6,600 6,500 6, Utilities 1,500 1,500 1, INFORMATION 4,400 4,400 4, FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES 12,300 12,100 12, Finance & Insurance 9,300 9,200 9, Real Estate, Rental & Leasing 3,000 2,900 3, PROFESSIONAL AND BUSINESS SERVICES 28,300 27,800 27, Professional & Technical Services 14,500 14,600 14, Administrative & Waste Services 11,800 10,900 11, EDUCATION AND HEALTH SERVICES 65,200 65,500 63, , Educational Services 13,200 13,700 13, Colleges and Universities 8,400 8,800 8, Health Care & Social Assistance 52,000 51,800 50, , Ambulatory Health Care Services 16,900 17,000 16, Hospitals 13,600 13,700 13, Nursing & Residential Care Facilities 7,500 7,400 7, Social Assistance 14,000 13,700 12, , LEISURE AND HOSPITALITY 32,900 33,200 33, Arts, Entertainment & Recreation 4,400 4,200 4, Accommodation & Food Services 28,500 29,000 28, Accommodation 7,900 9,100 9,200-1,200-1, Hotels & Motels 6,900 8,200 8,200-1,300-1, Food Services & Drinking Places 20,600 19,900 19, OTHER SERVICES 10,600 10,300 10, GOVERNMENT 58,200 59,100 57, Federal Government 6,900 6,800 6, State Government Education 9,300 11,200 8,600-1, Other State Government 9,800 9,500 9, Local Government Education 24,800 24,400 24, Other Local Government 7,400 7,200 7, Source: Current Employment Statistics Program (CES) produced by the Economic and Labor Market Information Division, Vermont Department of Labor ( in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics ( Estimates are preliminary and subject to revision. See Annual Summary for details.