According to the Massachusetts Excutive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, Chelmsford saw its unemployment rate drop even further under state and national levels.

In the department's most recent report, Chelmsford now has an unemployment rate of 5.3 percent, lower than August's 5.5 percent level and well below the 6.1 percent average for 2011.

Between August and September, Massachusetts as a whole saw unemployment climb from 6.5 percent to 6.6 percent, while the nation as a whole saw a similarly minor increase from 7.8 to 7.9 percent.

Among Chelmsford's neighboring towns, September saw unemployment a decrease for Tyngsborough (6.9 to 6.5), and increases for Carlisle (4.0 to 4.7), Lowell (8.5 to 8.6), Billerica (5.9 to 6.0) while Westford stayed level at 5.2 percent.