Massachusetts Unemployment Creeps Down in July

BOSTON — The state’s July total unemployment rate was 2.5%, down 0.1% from the revised June estimate of 2.6%, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development announced.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) preliminary job estimates indicate Massachusetts gained 12,500 jobs in July. This follows June’s revised gain of 1,400 jobs. The largest over-the-month private-sector job gains were in trade, transportation, and utilities; education and health services; and information.

Employment now stands at 3,781,200. Massachusetts gained 719,600 jobs since the employment low in April 2020.

From July 2022 to July 2023, BLS estimates Massachusetts gained 90,300 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 July unemployment rate of 2.5% was 1.0% below the national rate of 3.5% reported by BLS.

The labor force decreased by an estimated 5,200 from the revised estimate of 3,720,900 in June, as 1,200 fewer residents were employed and 4,000 fewer residents were unemployed over-the-month. Over-the-year, the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was down by 1.2%.

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 — dropped by 0.1% to 64.5% over-the-month. Compared to July 2022, the labor-force participation rate was down 0.6%.