March 26, 2021
Mass. unemployment falls to best pandemic rate
Photo | Grant Welker
Wormtown Brewery in Worcester opened a new taproom on Shrewsbury Street on March 17, a sign of the city's food and drink industry's ability to largely make it through the coronavirus pandemic.
By Grant Welker
The Massachusetts unemployment rate hit its best mark since the coronavirus pandemic hit about a year ago, with a February rate of 7.1%.
That number, released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, is a drastic improvement from last spring summer, when Massachusetts had unemployment rates of 16.4% in April, 15.3% in May and 14.8% in June — in a few cases having the worst such rate in the country.
[Related: Greater Worcester unemployment rate rises for 2nd straight month]
The 7.1% rate for February was the country's 13th worst. The national rate for the month was 6.2%.
The unemployment rate can sometimes mask deeper employment problems if those out of work stop working for new employment. At that point, they're no longer considered part of the workforce, and the unemployment rate doesn't reflect their inability to find work.
But the number of Massachusetts residents working has grown 22% since its low point last April, and by 6% from six months prior, in August. The labor force participation rate, which includes those working or seeking work, was 66.3%, down only one-tenth of a percentage point from February 2020, just before the pandemic hit in earnest.
In February, jobs in Massachusetts were up the most in leisure and hospitality, with a 10,300-job, or 4%, growth from January. The sector's employment remains down 30% from a year ago. Professional services were up 1.6%, the second best of any industry, while construction and government sectors each lost more than 1% of their industry employment.
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