Massachusetts Unemployment Down Slightly in March

BOSTON — The state’s March total unemployment rate was 3.5%, down 0.2% from the revised February estimate of 3.7%, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development announced.

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) preliminary job estimates indicate Massachusetts gained 16,300 jobs in March, following February’s revised gain of 9,200 jobs. The largest over-the-month private-sector job gains were in leisure and hospitality, education and health services, and construction. Employment now stands at 3,758,300. Massachusetts gained 696,700 jobs since the employment low in April 2020.

From March 2022 to March 2023, BLS estimates Massachusetts gained 104,000 jobs. The largest over-the-year gains occurred in education and health services; professional, scientific, and business services; and leisure and hospitality. The state’s March unemployment rate of 3.5% was the same as the national rate reported by BLS.

The labor force increased by an estimated 300 from 3,741,500 in February, as 4,700 more residents were employed and 4,400 fewer residents were unemployed over the month. Over the year, the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was down by 0.2%.

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 — remained unchanged at 65.0% over-the-month. Compared to March 2022, the labor-force participation rate was down 0.3%.