September 18, 2020
Mass. no longer has nation's worst unemployment rate, at 11.3% in August
Photo | Grant Welker
Construction has stalled at a planned retail plaza on Gold Star Boulevard in Worcester.
By Grant Welker
The Massachusetts unemployment rate in August showed a major improvement over July, falling nearly 5 percentage points to 11.3% in new data released Friday from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
After two months of last-place finishes, Massachusetts no longer has the country's worst unemployment rate. Nevada now has that unwelcome honor at 13.2%. Massachusetts now has the seventh worst.
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 — dropped to 62.6%. That's a 5.2 percentage-point drop from a year prior.
The national rate for August was 8.4%.
Massachusetts added 51,600 jobs in August, according to preliminary data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That follows July's increase of 70,900 jobs.
The biggest gains in employment were in fields that had taken the worst hits in recent months during the coronavirus pandemic.
Education and health sciences gained 17,400 jobs in the month, or 2.4%, and leisure and hospitality grew by 13,100 jobs, or 6.0%. Those industries still remain down for the year, by 7.5% and 38.7%, respectively.
Among other industries, manufacturing grew by 2,300 jobs, or 1.0%. Trade, transportation and utilities grew by 12,300 jobs, or 2.4%.
In July, the Greater Worcester unemployment rate stood at 14.9%, an improvement from 15.8% in June. The August number for Greater Worcester is expected to be released Sept. 30.
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