Unemployment Down Slightly in Braintree Last Month

Braintree's unemployment rate was down slightly in November from October and has dropped considerably from the 2011 average over the past 11 months.

There were just more than 1,000 people unemployed in Braintree in November, and just less than 18,200 peole employed. That gave the town a seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate of 5.4 percent last month, down from 5.6 percent in October, according to municipal data released on Wednesday by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.

The largest job gains in local markets happened last month in the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Framingham, Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, Worcester, Leominster-Fitchburg-Gardner and Pittsfield areas.

Statewide, the seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate in November was down 0.1 percent to 6.1 percent, though unemployment remained unchanged at 6.6 percent when adjusted seasonally.

In 2011, Braintree averaged 6.6 percent unemployment, down from a recent peak of 7.8 percent in 2010.

For more municipal unemployment data, go to http://www.mass.gov/lwd/economic-data and click on "Municipal Data" under "Other Resources."

How do you think Braintree's economy is doing lately? What about Massachusetts? Tell us in the comments below.