BOSTON (AP) — The state’s office of Labor and Workforce Development says Massachusetts gained an estimated 1,200 jobs in October, but the state’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6 percent.
The monthly report on Thursday also included a downward revision in job growth for September. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics said the state gained 7,800 jobs in that month, down from the previous estimate of 9,400.
Still, officials say Massachusetts has added more than 50,000 private sector jobs in the past 12 months.
The state’s labor force increased by about 14,000 in October, with 16,400 additional residents employed and 2,300 fewer people without a job.
For the second consecutive month, the state’s unemployment rate was above the national average. The U.S. rate stood at 5.8 percent in October, the lowest since 2008.
According to the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, the October report for Massachusetts is notably weaker than the strong national report released two weeks ago. Together, they support a conclusion that the state’s economy is currently growing somewhat more slowly than the nation’s, but that a longer perspective shows Massachusetts keeping pace.
According to AIM, over the past year, Massachusetts has gained a net of 52,600 jobs, and the unemployment rate has declined by 1.2 percent. The annual figures are more indicative of trends than the monthly results, which tend to fluctuate. With the October report, we are finally free of the effects of the Market Basket imbroglio, in which thousands of employees were temporarily out of work – an event large enough to produce discernable ripples even in the national data.
Sectors with the largest year-over-year job gains include Education and Health Services (+16,000), Professional, Scientific and Business Services (+14,500), and Information (+7,900 – a 9.1 percent increase). Manufacturing basically held its own, shading off by 700 jobs, or 0.3 percent.
The figures cited above, except for the unemployment rate, derive from a survey of employers. The household survey shows considerably stronger job creation – a gain of 16,400 for the month and 100,600 for the year. The same pattern appears in the national data.
