Massachusetts Unemployment Holds Steady in March
BOSTON — The state’s March total unemployment rate was 2.9%, unchanged from the revised February estimate of 2.9, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development announced. The Massachusetts unemployment rate was 0.9% lower than the national rate of 3.8% reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Over the year, the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was down by 0.6%.
The labor force increased by an estimated 8,300 from the revised estimate of 3,748,700 in February, with 11,300 residents more employed and 3,000 fewer residents unemployed over the month. The state’s labor-force participation rate — the total number of residents age 16 or older who worked or were unemployed and actively sought work in the last four weeks — increased 0.1% over the month to 64.9%. Compared to March 2023, the labor-force participation rate was down 0.3%.
BLS preliminary job estimates indicate Massachusetts gained 2,900 jobs in March, following February’s revised gain of 5,000 jobs. The largest over-the-month private-sector job gains were in education and health services, leisure and hospitality, and other services. Employment now stands at 3,740,500. Massachusetts gained 677,000 jobs since the employment low in April 2020.
From March 2023 to March 2024, BLS estimates Massachusetts gained 22,500 jobs. The largest over-the-year gains occurred in education and health services, leisure and hospitality, and other services.
