Continued low unemployment rate a challenge for Vermont

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - The Vermont Department of Labor says the state’s unemployment rate fell one-tenth of percent in February to 2.4 percent.

The current estimate for the number of people unemployed in Vermont - just under 8,500 - is the lowest since 1988.

Labor Commissioner Lindsay Kurrle says the low unemployment rate is putting upward pressure on wages, but it is stifling economic growth and Vermont needs more workers to fill open jobs across the state.

The February unemployment rate in Vermont’s 17 labor markets range from a low of 1.8 percent in the Burlington-South Burlington area to a high of 5.2 percent in Derby.

Attracting more people to Vermont is one of the key goals of the administration of Republican Gov. Phil Scott.