Local Unemployment Rate Drops Slightly
Unemployment in Andover has dropped 0.3 percent since July.
The Andover unemployment rate has been trending slightly lower than state and federal rates recently and is down by a fraction of a percent since July.
Andover's unemployment rate was 4.7 percent in August, down from 5 percent in July. It is one percent lower than Andover's 2011 average unemployment rate, which was 5.7 percent.
Andover currently has 16,131 working residents out of the 16,923 residents capable to work, leaving roughly 792 unemployed Andover residents as of August.
Statewide, the unadjusted unemployment rate was 6.4 percent in August, down slightly from 6.6 percent in July, according to the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.
In August 2011, the state's unemployment rate was at 7.2 percent. Government gained 3,400 jobs in August -- 2,500 state government jobs and 1,300 federal government jobs. But local governments lost 400 jobs. Educational Services lost 2,000 jobs in August, and Health Care and Social Assistance lost 600 jobs. Leisure and Hospitality lost 800 jobs.
Here are some unemployment rates in surrounding communities:
| Community | Aug. 2012 | July 2012 | Aug. 2011 |
| Andover | 4.7% | 5.0% | 6.0% |
| North Andover | 5.9% | 6.0% | 5.9% |
| Haverhill | 7.0% | 6.9% | 8.0% |
| North Reading | 4.9% | 5.2% | 5.6% |
| Methuen | 8.0% | 8.0% | 8.0% |
| Lawrence | 14.8% | 13.9% | 15.6% |
| Lowell | 8.5% | 8.6% | 9.6% |
