The unemployment rate in Massachusetts has experienced an increase along with Berkshire County in January.

On Tuesday, March 11th, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported that the state's unemployment rate for January 2025 rose to 4.7%, whereas December was 4.1%. This new figure is higher than the national unemployment rate, which stands at 4.0% in January.

How does Berkshire County compare?

According to the Department of Economic Research, Berkshire County had an unemployment rate for January of 2025 of 4.9%, which is 0.2% higher than Massachusetts’ rate and up .8% since December which had an unemployment rate of 4.1%.

Since September of 2024, the unemployment rate in the county has been steadily increasing. In September, the rate stood at 3.3%, and rose to 3.5% in October, and 3.8% in November.