Unemployment Rate in Massachusetts Drops to 4.1% in July

BOSTON — The state’s total unemployment rate dropped to 4.1% in July from 4.2% in June, and preliminary estimates show the state gained 7,300 jobs over the month, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported.

The state also added more jobs in June than the Bureau of Labor and Statistics originally estimated for the month, gaining 17,600 jobs compared to the previously published 16,400-job-gain estimate. Year to date, December 2015 to July 2016, Massachusetts has added 56,600 jobs.

In July, the largest over-the-month job gains occurred in the professional, scientific, and business services; leisure and hospitality; and financial activities sectors.

At 4.1%, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is down 0.7% over the year from 4.8% in July 2015. There were 26,700 fewer unemployed residents and 60,000 more employed residents over the year compared to July 2015.

Massachusetts’ unemployment rate remains lower than the national rate of 4.9% reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The state’s labor-force participation rate — the total number of residents 16 or older who worked or were unemployed and actively sought work in the last four weeks — is 65.0%, up 0.1% from the previous month. Over the year, the labor-force participation rate has increased 0.1% compared to July 2015.

Over the year, the largest private-sector percentage job gains were in the construction; professional, scientific, and business services; education and health services; and leisure and hospitality sectors.