Cape Ann's August jobless rates: Gloucester 4.1%, Rockport 4.2%, Manchester 3.3%, Essex 3%

About 956 people in Cape Ann's four towns were out of work and looking for a job in August, according to new federal estimates. That is about 3.9% of the 24,331 people in the towns' labor force.

Town by town, August 2026

• Gloucester: 4.1%, or 656 people out of a labor force of 15,987. That is down from 4.8% in July and 4.7% in August 2025.
• Rockport: 4.2%, or 143 of 3,386. Down from 4.9% in July and 4.9% a year earlier.
• Manchester-by-the-Sea: 3.3%, or 87 of 2,631. Down from 3.7% in July and 4.2% a year earlier.
• Essex: 3%, or 70 of 2,327. July was 3.1%, and August 2025 was 2.9%.

For comparison, the rate was 4.6% in Essex County and 4.4% statewide in August, using the same unadjusted method.

What the numbers are

The estimates come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which publishes them for every Massachusetts city and town with help from the state. They count people who live in each town, not jobs located there. August figures are preliminary and can be revised next month.

The town figures are not adjusted for the seasons. On Cape Ann, rates usually rise in winter and fall in summer and early fall, so the fairest comparison is with the same month a year earlier. In small towns, a change of a few dozen people can move the rate by a full point.

Explore the data

The Economy desk charts these rates back to 2019 for each town, alongside wages, prices and home values. September estimates are expected from the bureau in late October.