Massachusetts Unemployment Rate Creeps Down in November
BOSTON — The state’s November total unemployment rate was down 0.7 percentage points at 6.7%, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development announced.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ preliminary job estimates indicate Massachusetts added 12,200 jobs in November. This follows the previous month’s revised gain of 9,500 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; education and health services; leisure and hospitality; information; financial activities; manufacturing; and other services. Government lost jobs over the month.
From November 2019 to November 2020, BLS estimates Massachusetts lost 337,900 jobs. Losses occurred in each of the private sectors, with the largest percentage losses in leisure and hospitality, construction,education and health services, and other services.
The November unemployment rate was the same as the national rate of 6.7% reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Over the year, the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased by 3.9 %.
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 63.1%. Compared to November 2019, the labor-force participation rate was down by 4.8%.
