Those looking for jobs in Boston were granted a small bit of relief in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While many areas were experiencing rising unemployment rates, the city’s jobless percentage remained steady at 7.4 percent.
Despite this good news, Boston jobs are not as easy to come by as they were a year ago. During the same month in 2008 only 4.3 percent of residents were without jobs and collecting unemployment insurance.
This may be discouraging to those trying to conduct a job search, but keep in mind that the national jobless rate was 8.5 percent. This means that locating Boston jobs still remains somewhat easier than finding employment in much of the rest of the country.
Although the data shows that joblessness leveled out in March, many industries in the city reported that the number of jobs they provide are down for the last six months. According to the Bureau, only healthcare and educational services and government jobs were up in the area during the month.
The Bureau also found that the industry to see the largest decline over the last six months in Boston was construction. This comes as no surprise considering the fact that the housing market is currently suffering. Since fewer people can afford to buy new house there is little need for new construction projects. Another industry to see a large decline in the number of jobs it provided during the month of March was mining and logging.
Tags: Jobs in Boston