BOSTON - The federal government is reporting that New England's unemployment rate was lower than the national average last year.
The New England office of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Monday that the six state region's average rate of 4.1 percent was lower than the national jobless rate of 4.9 percent in 2016. It was also lower than the 4.9 percent the region registered in 2015.
New Hampshire had one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation at 2.8 percent last year.
Three other states also bested the national rate: Maine at 3.9 percent, Vermont at 3.3 percent and Massachusetts at 3.7 percent unemployment.
Two New England states, however, exceeded the national average: Connecticut at 5.1 percent and Rhode Island at 5.3 percent.