Massachusetts Unemployment Holds Steady in November

BOSTON — The state’s November total unemployment rate was 2.9%, up just 0.1 percentage point from the revised October estimate of 2.8%, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development announced.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) preliminary job estimates indicate Massachusetts gained 3,200 jobs in November. This follows October’s revised loss of 500 jobs. The largest over-the-month private-sector job gains were in leisure and hospitality, financial activities, and government. Employment now stands at 3,786,200. Massachusetts gained 724,600 jobs since the employment low in April 2020.

From November 2022 to November 2023, BLS estimates Massachusetts gained 66,100 jobs. The largest over-the-year gains occurred in education and health services, construction, and leisure and hospitality.

The state’s November unemployment rate of 2.9% was 0.8% lower than the national rate of 3.7% reported by BLS.

The labor force grew by an estimated 7,700 from the revised estimate of 3,721,400 in October, as 2,400 more residents were employed and 5,300 more residents were unemployed over the month. Over the year, the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was down by 0.8%.

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 — increased by 0.1% to 64.6% over the month. Compared to November 2022, the labor-force participation rate was down 0.2%.