Payroll job counts fell in all seven Massachusetts metropolitan areas tracked in September, led by a 6.9% decline in the Barnstable Town area, according to local labor estimates released Oct. 20.
Those local counts are not adjusted for regular seasonal changes. The statewide estimate, which does account for those patterns, rose by 3,500 jobs in September. The state cautions that the two sets of figures can show different trends.
Pittsfield's unadjusted job count fell 2.2% from August, and Amherst Town-Northampton's fell 1.8%. Compared with September 2025, however, six areas had more jobs. Barnstable Town was up 2%, Worcester 0.9% and Pittsfield 0.5%.
Local unemployment rates fell from August in nine of the state's 12 labor market areas and rose in two. Job counts measure positions on payrolls, while unemployment rates measure people who are looking for work but do not have a job.
Massachusetts' seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.3%, unchanged from the revised August estimate. The comparable national rate was 4.2%.
The statewide payroll estimate was 16,300 jobs higher than a year earlier. The Labor and Workforce Development office says its local and statewide measures use different statistical methods, another reason to compare like figures.
Sources: Massachusetts September local labor-market release.