By SIMÓN RIOS
srios@s-t.com
June 24, 2014 1:05 PM
NEW BEDFORD — The city’s unemployment rate has fallen 3.8 percent since May of last year, according to the latest unadjusted numbers from the state.
New Bedford’s 9.2 percent May unemployment rate represents a 1.2 percent decrease from the previous month.
In May 2013, the city’s 13 percent unemployment rate was among the highest in the state, ahead of Fall River but behind Lawrence, which had a 14.9 unemployment at the time. Fall River’s May unemployment rate was 9.4 percent, compared to 11.1 percent in Lawrence.
The New Bedford Area has also seen improvements since last year. The region employed 71,000 positions in May 2014, compared to 69,500 a year ago, representing a 2.2 percent increase.
These gateway cities have a long way to go before catching up with the rest of Massachsuetts. The statewide unemployment rate was 5.2 percent in May, down from 6.9 the year before.
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