Labor force and unemployment data for the North Shore is shown below. As of May 2019, the unemployment rate on the North Shore was 3.0% which is equal to the Massachusetts rate. The labor force in the North Shore has increased in the past year by 1.0% while the number employed has also increased by 1.1% and the number of unemployed decreased by 2.5%. Year to year gains in the North Shore labor force with higher employment figures combined with a decrease in the number of unemployed would signal an increase in the labor force participation rate. The workers returning to the labor force are possibly the long term unemployed and/or new Americans who would benefit from soft skills and hard skills training.
Additional labor force data for the North Shore can be found on the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD) Economic Data web site.
North Shore Workforce Development Area (WDA)
| Month | Year | Labor Force | Employed | Unemployed | North Shore Rate (not seasonally adjusted) |
Massachusetts Rate (seasonally adjusted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May | 2019 | 240,534 | 233,257 | 7,286 | 3.0% | 3.0% |
| April | 2019 | 239,500 | 233,486 | 6,014 | 2.5% | 2.9% |
| March | 2019 | 241,187 | 234,021 | 7,166 | 3.0% | 3.0% |
| February | 2019 | 241,002 | 233,729 | 7,273 | 3.0% | 3.0% |
| January | 2019 | 240,923 | 232,576 | 8,347 | 3.5% | 3.1% |
| December | 2018 | 240,054 | 233,902 | 6,152 | 2.6% | 3.1% |
| November | 2018 | 239,782 | 233,821 | 5,961 | 2.5% | 3.1% |
| October | 2018 | 238,967 | 232,685 | 6,282 | 2.6% | 3.1% |
| September | 2018 | 237,371 | 230,349 | 7,022 | 3.0% | 3.2% |
| August | 2018 | 239,436 | 232,061 | 7,375 | 3.1% | 3.3% |
| July | 2018 | 240,857 | 232,651 | 8,296 | 3.4% | 3.3% |
| June | 2018 | 240,990 | 232,387 | 8,603 | 3.6% | 3.4% |
| May | 2018 | 238,082 | 230,606 | 7,476 | 3.1% | 3.5% |