Mass. unemployment rose again in November
Photo I WBJ File
Unemployment in Massachusetts rose by 0.2 percentage points in November.
The unemployment rate in Massachusetts continued to rise in November for the second month in a row, yet still remained lower than the national average.
Massachusetts’ seasonally unadjusted unemployment increased by 0.2 percentage points to 3.9% in November, a figure just below the nation’s average, which rose by 0.1 percentage points to 4.0%. The Commonwealth’s rate was a full percentage point higher than in November 2023 when unemployment sat at 2.9%.
The state’s labor force continued its upward trajectory last month, growing by 2,450 to 3.84 million as the state’s labor force participation rate, a category 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 by 1,993 to 5.81 million in November, according to a Friday press release from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
With 2,100 jobs added over-the-month, the leisure and hospital industry once again gained the most jobs in November of the 10 sectors analyzed by the BLS. Over-the-year, the industry gained 5,700 jobs.
The government sector came in second, adding 1,500 followed by education and health services which gained 1,000 jobs over-the-month and 16,800 over-the-year, the largest over-the-year growth of all analyzed sectors.
While the construction industry lost 1,700, the most of the 10 industries, it gained 3,300 over the past year. Professional, scientific, and business services lost 1,500 in November yet also ended the past 12-months on an upward swing, gaining 2,400 jobs since November 2023.
Since unemployment rate estimates are gathered through a monthly sample of households and job estimates are collected via a monthly sample survey of employers, the two statistics may show divergent monthly trends, according to the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.
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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