Massachusetts Unemployment Creeps Up in January
BOSTON — The state’s January total unemployment rate increased by two-tenths of a percentage points to 4.8%, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development announced.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) preliminary job estimates indicate that Massachusetts gained 10,600 jobs in January. This follows the previous month’s revised gain of 14,500 jobs. The largest over-the-month private-sector job gains were in professional, scientific, and business services; leisure and hospitality; construction; and manufacturing. Employment now stands at 3,609,000. Since the employment trough in April 2020, Massachusetts has gained 558,000 jobs.
From January 2021 to January 2022, BLS estimates that Massachusetts gained 178,100 jobs. The largest over-the-year gains occurred in leisure and hospitality; professional, scientific, and business services; and education and health services. Financial activities was the only sector to see job losses.
The January unemployment rate of 4.8% was 0.8% above the national rate reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The labor force increased by an estimated 15,700 from 3,751,500 in December, as 9,400 more residents were employed, and 6,200 more residents were unemployed over the month.Over the year, the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was down by 2.3%.
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 — was up three-tenths of a percentage point to 65.8%. Compared to January 2021, the labor-force participation rate was up 0.6%.
