{"h1":"Best counties for laid-off professionals in New England","faq":[{"a":"Suffolk County is the best all-round county for laid-off professionals in New England, with a score of 80 / 100.","q":"Which county ranks first: best counties for laid-off professionals in new england?"},{"a":"12 counties have at least 100 openings, so the list has 12 entries.","q":"How many counties are ranked?"},{"a":"A county's score is the weighted average of its percentile rank on each measure among the ranked counties (100 is first, 0 is last): openings per 100 unemployed 40%, american job centers 20%, change in unemployment over a year 20%, private-sector job growth since 2022 20%. Openings are our professional roles placed in the county of the city their posting names; unemployment is BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, not seasonally adjusted; jobs and sectors are BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; population is Census; American Job Centers are from CareerOneStop. The measures and weights are fixed in advance and shown here. Only counties with at least 20,000 people in the labor force, 100 openings, 500 unemployed people and 50,000 residents are ranked.","q":"How is the ranking calculated?"},{"a":"Every month. This is the November 2026 edition. Older editions stay on this site at their own dated addresses.","q":"How often is it updated?"}],"lead":"Suffolk County is the best all-round county for laid-off professionals in New England, with a score of 80 / 100.","minN":100,"rows":[{"n":4895,"bar":1,"key":"25025","sub":"MA","href":"/places/massachusetts/county/suffolk-county","name":"Suffolk County","rank":1,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"25"},{"label":"American Job Centers","value":"3"},{"label":"Change in unemployment over a year","value":"−0.3 points"}],"value":80,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"80 / 100"},{"n":3848,"bar":0.8409090909090906,"key":"25017","sub":"MA","href":"/places/massachusetts/county/middlesex-county","name":"Middlesex County","rank":2,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"11"},{"label":"American Job Centers","value":"4"},{"label":"Change in unemployment over a year","value":"−0.3 points"}],"value":67.27272727272725,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"67 / 100"},{"n":526,"bar":0.7840909090909091,"key":"33011","sub":"NH","href":"/places/new-hampshire/county/hillsborough-county","name":"Hillsborough County","rank":3,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"10"},{"label":"American Job Centers","value":"2"},{"label":"Change in unemployment over a year","value":"−1.1 points"}],"value":62.72727272727273,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"63 / 100"},{"n":132,"bar":0.7840909090909091,"key":"33015","sub":"NH","href":"/places/new-hampshire/county/rockingham-county","name":"Rockingham County","rank":4,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"3"},{"label":"American Job Centers","value":"2"},{"label":"Change in unemployment over a year","value":"−1.1 points"}],"value":62.72727272727273,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"63 / 100"},{"n":273,"bar":0.6931818181818181,"key":"23005","sub":"ME","href":"/places/maine/county/cumberland-county","name":"Cumberland County","rank":5,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"6"},{"label":"American Job Centers","value":"2"},{"label":"Change in unemployment over a year","value":"+0.1 points"}],"value":55.45454545454545,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"55 / 100"},{"n":263,"bar":0.6704545454545455,"key":"44007","sub":"RI","href":"/places/rhode-island/county/providence-county","name":"Providence County","rank":6,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"2"},{"label":"American Job Centers","value":"2"},{"label":"Change in unemployment over a year","value":"−0.9 points"}],"value":53.63636363636364,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"54 / 100"},{"n":534,"bar":0.6022727272727273,"key":"25021","sub":"MA","href":"/places/massachusetts/county/norfolk-county","name":"Norfolk County","rank":7,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"3"},{"label":"American Job Centers","value":"2"},{"label":"Change in unemployment over a year","value":"−0.2 points"}],"value":48.18181818181818,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"48 / 100"},{"n":433,"bar":0.6022727272727273,"key":"25009","sub":"MA","href":"/places/massachusetts/county/essex-county","name":"Essex County","rank":8,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"2"},{"label":"American Job Centers","value":"3"},{"label":"Change in unemployment over a year","value":"−0.2 points"}],"value":48.18181818181818,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"48 / 100"},{"n":437,"bar":0.5681818181818181,"key":"25027","sub":"MA","href":"/places/massachusetts/county/worcester-county","name":"Worcester County","rank":9,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"2"},{"label":"American Job Centers","value":"3"},{"label":"Change in unemployment over a year","value":"−0.3 points"}],"value":45.45454545454545,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"45 / 100"},{"n":135,"bar":0.4545454545454545,"key":"25003","sub":"MA","href":"/places/massachusetts/county/berkshire-county","name":"Berkshire County","rank":10,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"5"},{"label":"American Job Centers","value":"1"},{"label":"Change in unemployment over a year","value":"−0.1 points"}],"value":36.36363636363636,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"36 / 100"},{"n":124,"bar":0.3522727272727273,"key":"25005","sub":"MA","href":"/places/massachusetts/county/bristol-county","name":"Bristol County","rank":11,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"1"},{"label":"American Job Centers","value":"3"},{"label":"Change in unemployment over a year","value":"−0.2 points"}],"value":28.18181818181818,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"28 / 100"},{"n":163,"bar":0.1477272727272727,"key":"25013","sub":"MA","href":"/places/massachusetts/county/hampden-county","name":"Hampden County","rank":12,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"1"},{"label":"American Job Centers","value":"2"},{"label":"Change in unemployment over a year","value":"+0.0 points"}],"value":11.81818181818182,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"12 / 100"}],"slug":"best-counties-for-laid-off-professionals-in-new-england","unit":"openings","scope":{"id":"new-england","kind":"region","name":"New England"},"title":"Best counties for laid-off professionals in New England","family":"Best overall","method":["A county's score is the weighted average of its percentile rank on each measure among the ranked counties (100 is first, 0 is last): openings per 100 unemployed 40%, american job centers 20%, change in unemployment over a year 20%, private-sector job growth since 2022 20%.","Openings are our professional roles placed in the county of the city their posting names; unemployment is BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, not seasonally adjusted; jobs and sectors are BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; population is Census; American Job Centers are from CareerOneStop. The measures and weights are fixed in advance and shown here.","Only counties with at least 20,000 people in the labor force, 100 openings, 500 unemployed people and 50,000 residents are ranked."],"builtAt":"2026-11-04T03:37:37.436Z","edition":"2026-11","measure":"claidoff","sources":["NextChapter job data: open professional roles by county","Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics and Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages","CareerOneStop American Job Center directory"],"baseline":null,"keyFacts":["#1 Suffolk County, MA: 80 / 100","#2 Middlesex County, MA: 67 / 100","#3 Hillsborough County, NH: 63 / 100","12 counties ranked in New England","Data as of November 2026"],"placeNoun":"counties","commentary":["The lead is wide: Suffolk County (80 / 100) is well clear of Berkshire County at #10 (36 / 100).","Rockingham County reaches #4 on a sample of 132 openings, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.","Suffolk County is the largest market in the top ten, with 4,895 openings behind its figure.","Counties with fewer than 100 openings are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful."],"license":"Free to use and share with a link to https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-counties-for-laid-off-professionals-in-new-england"}