After the release of Massachusetts’ October unemployment rate was canceled by the federal government due to its shutdown, the state has received its November rate.
The Bay State’s preliminary November unemployment rate sat at 4.7%, the same as the state’s seasonally adjusted figure in September, according to a Jan. 7 press release from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.
Massachusetts’ November rate was 0.1 percentage points higher than the country’s average of 4.6%. That month, the state employed 3.77 million residents and had 187,000 unemployed. residents.
While the state’s unemployment rate was elevated compared to the nation, its labor force participation rate was also higher, a grouping defined as the number of residents 16 years and older who worked or were unemployed and actively sought work in the last four weeks. Massachusetts’ labor force participation rate was 66.6% in November, just over 4 percentage points higher than the nation’s rate of 62.5%.
“The labor market remains slow but stable. We are seeing low hiring rates, but we are also seeing low unemployment claims through November,” Mark Rembert, EOLWD’s department of economic research chief economist, said in the release. “This suggests that while businesses are cautious about adding new roles or backfilling due to attrition, they are reluctant to let go of the workers they currently have.”
Adding 3,900 positions in November, the professional and business services sector gained the most jobs out of the nine industries analyzed by the BLS. Still, the industry has lost 500 jobs since November 2004.
The sectors of financial activities, manufacturing, and construction followed behind, with financial activities gaining 600 jobs and manufacturing and construction each integrating 500 new positions in November.
While the trade, transportation, and utilities industry didn’t add any new roles in November, it experienced the largest over-the-year increase, adding 5,300 jobs since November 2024.
The leisure and hospitality industry by far lost the most jobs over the month and over the year in November, shedding 2,300 positions over the month and 6,100 since November 2024.
December’s unemployment rate is set to be released on Jan. 23.
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare, manufacturing, and higher education industries.
