Massachusetts Unemployment Rate Creeps Up in September
BOSTON — The state’s September total unemployment rate increased by two-tenths of a percentage point to 5.2% in September, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development announced.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) preliminary job estimates indicate Massachusetts gained 11,900 jobs in September. This follows last month’s revised gain of 3,400 jobs. The largest over-the-month private sector job gains were in education and health services and other services. Since December 2020, Massachusetts has gained 159,900 jobs.
From September 2020 to September 2021, BLS estimates Massachusetts gained 175,200 jobs. Gains occurred in all sectors, led by leisure and hospitality; professional, scientific, and business services; and trade, transportation and utilities.
The September unemployment rate was 0.4% above the national rate of 4.8% reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The labor force increased by 11,300 from 3,709,500 in August, as 3,800 more residents were employed and 7,500 more residents were unemployed over the month.
Over the year, the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was down by 3.7%.
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 — was up two-tenths of a percentage point at 65.9%. Compared to September 2020, the labor-force participation rate is up 1.2%.
