Mass. unemployment remained unchanged once again in July
Photo I Nathan Fiske
Unemployment in Massachusetts remained unchanged at 4.8% in July.
For the third consecutive month, Massachusetts’ unemployment rate held steady in July while remaining higher than the nation as a whole.
Last month, the state’s unemployment rate sat at 4.8%, 0.6 percentage points higher than the country’s 4.2% rate.
“As Massachusetts and the country navigates these uncertain economic times, it is encouraging to see stability in our state’s unemployment rate combined with some job growth in a few industries, based on preliminary data,” Lauren Jones, Massachusetts secretary of labor and workforce development, said in a Friday press release from the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
While the state’s unemployment rate has been elevated compared to the nation’s, it has consistently experienced a higher labor force participation rate throughout the entire past year., The category is defined as the number of residents 16 years and older who worked or were unemployed and actively sought work in the last four weeks, grew last month.
The state’s labor force rate last month was once again 66.9%, more than four percentage points higher than the country’s 62.2%.
The commonwealth’s labor force slightly increased in July, gaining 2,100 residents to a total estimated labor force of 3.96 million. At the same time, the state lost 600 jobs over the month, yet still held 8,200 jobs more than it did in July 2024.
While these numbers sent mixed signals, their subtext signals a steady labor market slowdown, said Mark Rembert, chief economist at the EOLWD’s Department of Economic Research, in the release.
"The labor market data for July showed mixed signals, but the underlying narrative points to gradual slowdown in the labor market,” Rembert said in the release. “On one hand, fewer residents filed for unemployment benefits in July. On the other, the data suggests that it is taking longer for those looking for work to land a new position. However, the healthcare and social assistance and construction sectors are bright spots, together adding more than 10,000 jobs over the past three months.”
Massachusetts’ education and health services industry gained 1,800 jobs over the month, the most of any of the 10 analyzed by the BLS. The sector also saw 8,700 jobs added over the year, by far the most of any other industry.
The construction industry trailed closely behind with 1,600 jobs added over the month.
The professional, scientific, and business services industry fell drastically behind the curve, losing 3,100 jobs in July and 9,400 over the year.
The leisure and hospitality sector came behind, losing 2,000 jobs last month while the manufacturing and information industries each lost 200.
Financial activities was the only sector to not lose or gain any jobs in the month of July.
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.
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