Massachusetts Unemployment Ticks Up in July
BOSTON — The state’s July total unemployment rate was 3.5%, a 0.3% increase from the revised June estimate of 3.2%, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development announced. The Massachusetts unemployment rate was 0.8% lower than the national rate of 4.3% reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Over-the-year, the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was up by 0.3%.
The labor force increased by an estimated 22,000 from the revised estimate of 3,806,600 in June, with 12,100 residents more employed and 9,900 more residents unemployed over-the-month. 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 — increased 0.3% over-the-month to 66.0%, the highest it has been since September 2020. Compared to July 2023, the labor-force participation rate also increased 1.0% over-the-year.
The BLS preliminary job estimates for Massachusetts decreased by 2,300 jobs in July. This follows June’s revised gain of 16,400 jobs. The largest over-the-month private-sector job gains were in leisure and hospitality, financial activities, and transportation and warehousing. Employment now stands at 3,750,200. Massachusetts gained 686,700 jobs since the employment low in April 2020.
From July 2023 to July 2024, BLS estimates Massachusetts gained 41,200 jobs. The largest over-the-year gains occurred in education and health services, government, and leisure and hospitality.
