Last modified: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 2:42 AM EDT Area jobless rate on the rise BY JIM HAND SUN CHRONICLE STAFF The unemployment rate has jumped a full percentage point in area communities over the past year, although Massachusetts is doing better than many states. The area has been hit by large firms such as Josten's in Attleboro and Leach & Garner in North Attleboro reducing its local workforce. Higher fuel and food prices are also taking a toll. The unemployment rate in Attleboro bumped up from 4.8 a year ago to 5.8 percent last month. North Attleboro had the largest percentage increase over the past year, going from 3.9 percent to 5.3 percent unemployment. Norton has the highest local jobless rate at 5.9 percent. Jack Lank, president of the Attleboro Area Chamber of Commerce, said having Josten's move out of Attleboro hurt, but fuel prices are holding all businesses down. He said suppliers to local firms are adding delivery surcharges because of the cost of gasoline and diesel. Area businesses have to pass those expenses along to customers, which results in fewer sales. "They don't have the volume of business, so they don't need the extra" employees, he said. If there is a bright side, Lank said, it's from talking to colleagues across the country. He knows Massachusetts is doing better economically than many states. "We're holding our own. We're treading water," he said. The Massachusetts unemployment rate - at 5.3 percent - is below the national figure of 5.5 percent. There was also a slight up-tick of 2,900 jobs in the state from May to June, according to the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. However, the increased jobs was offset by a jump in the number of people seeking work, leading to a hike in the unemployment rate from 4.7 percent to 5.3 percent from May to June. Jon Bryan, a business professor at Bridgewater State College, said the labor force - or number of people wanting to work - could have expanded for a number of reasons. People may have started to feel more optimistic about the economy and decided to try again to find a job after being out of work for a period. Or, families with one income may have decided they cannot pay the bills anymore, so a previously unemployed spouse may be looking for work. Bryan said it is not surprising that Massachusetts is weathering the economic downturn better than some states. Massachusetts, he said, is less reliant on manufacturing than the Midwest, so the Bay State has not suffered the massive layoffs typical of business segments like the automobile industry. The Northeast also did not experience the housing boom Western and Southern states went through in recent years, so New England's construction industry has not fallen as far as it has in other regions, he said. "We didn't have a boom or bust," he said. Furthermore, Massachusetts specialties, such as education and high technology, are doing well, he said.