Good news just released about the Massachusetts job market. We gained 8,100 jobs last month, and we’ve gained 15,000 jobs since January 1st.
The bad news is, our labor force is shrinking, presumably because 1) people are leaving the Commonwealth, and, 2) people are dropping out of the labor force.
The state’s labor force is roughly 3.3 million people, down 24,300 from the year-ago period.
The drop in workers, combined with the job gains, have kept the state’s unemployment rate stagnant, at 4.9 percent since January. The national unemployment rate is 4.7 percent.
Massachusetts’ unemployment rate has trailed the national rate for three consecutive months. The state’s rate was below the national level for exactly two years, starting in January 2004.
(Um, I’m confused by the above – don’t a drop in workers and an increase in jobs work in the same direction, not against each other? That sentence above makes it sound as though the unemployment rate isn’t lower because one is working against the other. Oh, well, I’m not an economist.)
I dunno, I see this as a glass half-full, not half-empty.
It’s encouraging to see.
Source: Bay State unemployment rate remains steady in April – The Boston Business Journal
Contact me to set up an appointment to start your Boston condo buying process.
SEARCH BOSTON CONDOS FOR SALE
For more information please contact one of our on-call agents at 617-595-3712.
Updated: January 2018
