Jobless rate drops for third month
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Published: December 19, 2009
MONTPELIER (AP) — The Vermont Department of Labor says the state's unemployment rate dropped in November for the third month in a row.
And state officials say the drop of one tenth of one percentage point to 6.4 percent, was accompanied by a sizable jump in the number of employed Vermonters.
Despite the apparent good news, state officials aren't ready to say the economy is on the road to recovery.
Labor Commissioner Patricia Moulton Powden says other measures do not support such strong employment growth.
She says the state continues to be cautious as to whether the numbers are signals the recovery has arrived.
Unemployment in Vermont's 17 labor markets ranged from a low of 3.9 percent in Hartford to 8.1 percent in Rutland.
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