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September 17, 2015

State's jobless rate holds at 4.7 percent

FreeDigitalPhotos.net Massachusetts added another 7,200 jobs in August, according to preliminary data from the Baker administration.

The state’s unemployment rate remained at 4.7 percent in August while Massachusetts picked up 7,200 jobs, according to preliminary estimates from the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD).

The state agency said Thursday that August marked the 12th consecutive month of job gains, with Massachusetts adding 56,500 positions in the first eight months of 2015. The leisure and hospitality sector added the most August jobs at 3,100, while manufacturing lost the most at 2,600.

In another sign of an improving job picture, the seasonally adjusted 4.7 percent unemployment rate for August is almost a full point lower than August 2014’s 5.6 percent. Still, the EOLWD noted, there are more than 167,500 state residents without a job.

The EOLWD’s August estimates show the number of employed Massachusetts residents declined by 20,600 and the number of unemployed residents decreased by 2,500, reducing the labor force by 23,100.

The August state unemployment rate remains lower than the national rate of 5.1 percent reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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