Photo: peterschreiber.media / iStock / Getty Images
BOSTON (State House News Service) - The Massachusetts unemployment rate dipped even lower in July after establishing a record low point in June.
State officials on Friday morning pegged the jobless rate last month at 2.5 percent, down 0.1 percentage point from the previous month.
The national unemployment rate for July was 3.5 percent. Massachusetts was one of seven states to see its unemployment rate dip in July. The others were Louisiana, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia and Washington, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said Friday. Only three states (Arizona, Idaho and Wisconsin) saw their rates increase last month. New Hampshire had the lowest jobless rate in July at 1.7 percent, BLS said. The next lowest rates were in Maryland and Vermont, each at 1.8 percent, South Dakota at 1.9 percent, and North Dakota and Nebraska each at 2 percent, according to BLS.
The BLS indicated Massachusetts gained 12,500 jobs in July, the state announced, following June's revised gain of 1,400 jobs. From July 2022 to July 2023, BLS estimates that Massachusetts gained 90,300 jobs, with the largest over-the-year increases coming in education and health services; professional, scientific and business services; and leisure and hospitality.
Employers in recent months have struggled to fill open jobs and the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported Friday that the state's labor force decreased in July by about 5,200 people, with 1,200 fewer residents employed and 4,000 fewer residents unemployed over-the-month.
Written by Michael P. Norton/SHNS
Follow WBZ NewsRadio: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | iHeartmedia App | TikTok