Massachusetts Unemployment Declines in October
BOSTON — The state’s October unemployment rate was down 2.4 percentage points at 7.4% following a revision to the September rate at 9.8%, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development announced.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) preliminary job estimates indicate Massachusetts added 11,400 jobs in October, following the previous month’s revised gain of 36,400 jobs. Over the month, the private sector added 15,600 jobs as gains occurred in trade, transportation, and utilities; professional, scientific, and business services; construction; manufacturing; financial activities; and other services. Government lost jobs over the month.
From October 2019 to October 2020, BLS estimates Massachusetts lost 340,200 jobs. Losses occurred in each of the private sectors, with the largest-percentage losses in leisure and hospitality; other services; construction; and education and health services.
The October unemployment rate was 0.5% above the national rate of 6.9% reported by BLS.
The labor force decreased by 155,600 from 3,764,000 in September, as 55,200 fewer residents were employed and 100,400 fewer residents were unemployed over the month. Over the year, the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased by 4.6%.
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 — dropped to 63.7%. Compared to October 2019, the labor-force participation rate is down by 4.3%.
