New job seekers help bump unemployment rate up to 4.6%
Photo | Courtesy of Chris Lisinski, State House News Service
The Massachusetts State House
The statewide unemployment rate climbed again in April to 4.6%, slightly widening the gap with the national joblessness rate, labor officials said Friday.
Citing federal data, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development announced that unemployment in Massachusetts rose two-tenths of a percentage point from March to April. The national unemployment rate remained level at 4.2% in that span.
It was the fourth straight month that both the labor force and the unemployment rate grew. Compared to April 2024, the labor force included about 52,000 more people and the unemployment rate was 0.7 percentage points higher.
Employers also added about 7,700 jobs in April, according to results of a different monthly labor survey, building on the 2,800 positions added in March.
Department of Economic Research Chief Economist Mark Rembert said Friday that the job market remained stable "despite economic headwinds."
"The unemployment rate edged up, but most significantly, we haven't seen an uptick in layoffs or new unemployment claims, meaning the uptick is being driven by more people entering the workforce and looking for work," Rembert said in a statement.
While employment is relatively stable, many businesses have voiced low confidence in the local economic outlook amid uncertainty about federal spending and tariffs. Economists have also forecast sluggish growth in Massachusetts.
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