Massachusetts lost 1,000 jobs during September as the unemployment rate held at 2.9%, state labor officials reported Friday morning.
“The unemployment rate in Massachusetts has held at 2.9% for the third consecutive month and is 0.6 of a percentage point below the U.S. rate. Massachusetts is estimated to have now added 286,100 jobs since the previous high level in February of 2001, and 350,000 jobs from the April 2008 pre-recession peak. These job gains have been concentrated in key areas of the economy like education and health services,” Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Rosalin Acosta said.
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 – remained at 67.6%. Compared to September 2018, the labor force participation rate is down 0.3 of a percentage point.
The Worcester metropolitan area had a 3.2% unemployment rate in July, the latest month on record with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The metro area includes Worcester County and Connecticut’s Windham County. The Boston metro area, which extends west to Middlesex County, had a rate of 2.6%.
