Local unemployment numbers improve

NEW ENGLAND – The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics says that unemployment rates aren't good, but they are a lot less bad than they have been.

Maine's jobless rate stacks up well as compared to certain other states in New England. At 7.3 percent, Maine is ahead of Massachusetts, with its 8.2 percent, Connecticut with 9, and Rhode Island with 11.6 percent of the population out of work.

Locally, Oxford County has seen an improvement over last year, and is nearly even with the national average.

Nationally, 9.8 percent is the figure, and Oxford County is one tenth of a point lower than that, at 9.7 percent. Last year at this time, the figure for the county was 10.4 percent, demonstrating a slight improvement.

The raw unemployment figures are important, but they don't tell the whole story of an area's job market.

The numbers are not seasonally adjusted, which gives no edge for, say, highway construction workers, the summer tourist industry, or any of the types of work that typically lay people off this time of year.