What does this measure?
Unemployed individuals are those without jobs who are able, available and actively seeking work. The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed people as a percentage of the total labor force (the total number of employed and unemployed individuals 16 or older and not living in prisons, mental hospitals, or nursing homes).
Why is this important?
Unemployment rates are an indicator of local economic conditions, including changes in the employment landscape that reflect the overall health of the economy.
How is Norfolk County doing?
The unemployment rate in Norfolk was 5.1% in 2021, which represented about 20,000 people seeking employment. This represents a decline from the previous year when the rate peaked at 8.8% due to the COVID pandemic. The state and nation also had declines in unemployment since 2020 with rates of 5.7% and 5.3%, respectively, in 2021.
The unemployment rate in Norfolk County was lower than Essex (6.4%) and higher than Middlesex (4.6%). Both comparison counties had lower unemployment rates in 2021 since peaking in 2020.
Notes about the data
The unemployment rate represents only those who are actively seeking employment and does not account for under-employment or discouraged workers who have stopped looking for jobs. Also, county-level estimates are based on relatively small samples, and the true number of unemployed residents may vary considerably from the estimate. The rates reported here are averages of monthly rates.
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridge, Middlesex County | 2.0% | 2.8% | 4.0% | 4.2% | 3.6% | 3.4% | 3.2% | 3.0% | 3.5% | 5.3% | 5.2% | 4.6% | 4.2% | 4.2% | 3.6% | 3.1% | 2.6% | 2.5% | 2.1% | 1.9% | 5.3% | 3.5% |
| Everett, Middlesex County | 3.1% | 4.0% | 5.8% | 7.0% | 5.6% | 5.3% | 5.3% | 5.0% | 5.7% | 8.4% | 7.5% | 7.1% | 6.4% | 6.3% | 5.4% | 4.3% | 3.6% | 3.3% | 2.9% | 2.6% | 11.5% | 6.0% |
| Newton, Middlesex County | 1.9% | 2.8% | 3.9% | 4.0% | 3.4% | 3.3% | 3.2% | 3.0% | 3.5% | 5.5% | 5.8% | 5.0% | 4.6% | 4.8% | 4.2% | 3.7% | 3.1% | 2.9% | 2.5% | 2.2% | 6.3% | 4.0% |
| Norfolk County | 2.4% | 3.2% | 4.6% | 5.1% | 4.5% | 4.1% | 4.1% | 3.9% | 4.7% | 7.3% | 7.2% | 6.3% | 5.7% | 5.7% | 5.0% | 4.2% | 3.5% | 3.4% | 3.1% | 2.7% | 8.8% | 5.1% |
| Essex County | 2.9% | 4.1% | 5.8% | 6.3% | 5.6% | 5.2% | 5.1% | 4.8% | 5.6% | 8.7% | 8.4% | 7.6% | 7.1% | 7.0% | 6.0% | 5.0% | 4.1% | 3.9% | 3.5% | 3.1% | 10.4% | 6.4% |
| Middlesex County | 2.3% | 3.4% | 4.9% | 5.2% | 4.4% | 4.0% | 3.9% | 3.7% | 4.3% | 6.9% | 6.7% | 5.9% | 5.4% | 5.4% | 4.7% | 3.9% | 3.3% | 3.1% | 2.8% | 2.4% | 7.7% | 4.6% |
| Massachusetts | 2.8% | 3.8% | 5.2% | 5.7% | 5.1% | 4.8% | 4.7% | 4.5% | 5.3% | 8.1% | 8.1% | 7.2% | 6.7% | 6.6% | 5.7% | 4.8% | 4.0% | 3.8% | 3.4% | 3.1% | 9.4% | 5.7% |
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridge, Middlesex County | 1,170 | 1,690 | 2,379 | 2,459 | 2,071 | 1,942 | 1,904 | 1,815 | 2,149 | 3,265 | 3,150 | 2,791 | 2,588 | 2,590 | 2,300 | 1,963 | 1,674 | 1,695 | 1,561 | 1,391 | 3,726 | 2,506 |
| Everett, Middlesex County | 606 | 770 | 1,130 | 1,347 | 1,060 | 1,000 | 989 | 945 | 1,093 | 1,625 | 1,730 | 1,657 | 1,504 | 1,502 | 1,323 | 1,098 | 931 | 872 | 780 | 711 | 3,134 | 1,592 |
| Newton, Middlesex County | 875 | 1,315 | 1,842 | 1,894 | 1,594 | 1,549 | 1,481 | 1,375 | 1,638 | 2,541 | 2,557 | 2,210 | 2,073 | 2,183 | 1,932 | 1,698 | 1,468 | 1,386 | 1,239 | 1,069 | 2,923 | 1,868 |
| Norfolk County | 8,533 | 11,558 | 16,552 | 18,072 | 15,917 | 14,648 | 14,519 | 13,940 | 16,804 | 26,110 | 25,885 | 22,483 | 20,654 | 20,842 | 18,344 | 15,356 | 13,041 | 13,025 | 12,053 | 10,598 | 34,409 | 20,099 |
| Essex County | 10,623 | 15,603 | 22,358 | 24,004 | 21,325 | 19,578 | 18,915 | 17,942 | 21,234 | 32,965 | 33,104 | 29,973 | 28,286 | 27,846 | 24,236 | 20,341 | 16,937 | 16,398 | 15,229 | 13,551 | 43,999 | 27,018 |
| Middlesex County | 18,559 | 27,823 | 40,918 | 43,060 | 35,769 | 32,695 | 31,693 | 30,208 | 35,875 | 56,764 | 55,503 | 48,654 | 45,528 | 45,511 | 39,884 | 33,770 | 28,686 | 28,228 | 25,819 | 22,721 | 69,566 | 41,897 |
| Massachusetts | 94,210 | 128,540 | 179,347 | 195,695 | 173,839 | 162,583 | 160,659 | 155,327 | 183,607 | 280,925 | 280,687 | 251,677 | 235,201 | 233,545 | 204,704 | 172,113 | 145,171 | 142,131 | 131,428 | 117,400 | 351,435 | 215,392 |
| INDICATORS | TREND |
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