Mass. Unemployment Rate Up Slightly

BOSTON, Mass. (WPRI) - The job picture got a little darker in Massachusetts last month. The latest numbers show the state's unemployment rate jumped to 8.0%, which is up slightly from 7.7 percent in March.

The Massachusetts jobless rate is still below the national unemployment rate which climbed to 8.9 percent in April.

There's a vast difference when you compare the numbers from last year, to now. One year ago, in April 2008, Massachusetts recorded a 4.8 percent jobless rate while the U.S. rate was at 5.0 percent.

Rhode Island's unemployment numbers will be released tomorrow. In March, Rhode Island's jobless rate was 10.6 percent, one of the highest in the country.
 

Mass. Employment Overview

Education and Health Services recorded a minor job decline for the second straight month. A 900 monthly decrease in Educational Services was partially offset by a 200 increase in Health Care and Social Assistance. At 646,000, Education and Health Services remains the only private sector to add jobs over the year, with Health Care and Social Assistance accounting for 8,000 of the 8,500 jobs added from one year ago.

Government jobs were unchanged over the month as an increase of 1,500 jobs in Federal Government was offset by declines in both State Government and Local Government of 600 and 900 respectively.

Professional, Scientific, and Business Services recorded the largest job decline in April, posting a 3,500 job loss, but once again, the Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services component remained relatively stable. The Administrative and Waste Management Services component, which includes Temporary Help Agencies, lost 2,700 jobs whereas the larger Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services component edged down by 200 following a 400-job gain the prior month. At 455,900, employment in the overall sector is down 33,100 or 6.8 percent from one year ago, with nearly the entire decline occurring over the past six months. Since April 2008, Administrative and Waste Management Services has declined by 23,300 jobs, while the Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services component is down 7,400 jobs.

Financial Activities recorded a 1,000 job decline in April after job levels had held fairly steady over the prior two months. Still, the 2,300 job loss over the first four months of 2009 is a significant improvement from the 8,900 job loss over the final three months of 2008. At 209,100, the Financial Activities sector is down 13,100 jobs or 5.9 percent from one year ago. While losses were split between Finance and Insurance and Real Estate, Rental and Leasing, the 14.3 percent decline in the latter was larger than that for any other sub-sector for which estimates are published.

Trade, Transportation and Utilities lost 2,300 jobs in April with retail trade again showing most of the decline. Employment in the sector is down 24,900 or 4.4 percent from one year ago to 546,600, with nearly all the annual job loss attributed to declines in Retail and Wholesale Trade.

Leisure and Hospitality jobs were off 700 over the month, a substantial reduction from the 5,700 job loss recorded in March. At 296,700, jobs are off 9,000 over the year, with most of the losses in Accommodation and Food Services.

Information jobs were up 600 in April, the only sector to post over the month gains. At 85,100, Information employment is down 6,000 or 6.6 percent from one year ago, with job losses concentrated in Newspaper, Periodical, and Book Publishing and Telecommunications.

Manufacturing jobs continued to trend downward with a 1,400 decline in April with losses recorded in both Nondurable and Durable Goods. At 272,800 Manufacturing employment is down 16,100 or 5.6 percent from one year ago. Transportation Equipment and Food Products were the only Manufacturing industries to post over the year gains, while Fabricated Metals and Computer and Electronic Products recorded the largest losses.
Construction jobs fell by 1,900 in April. At 117,000, jobs are down 17,500 or 13.0 percent from one year ago, nearly twice the rate of decline of any other sector.
 

Where The Numbers Come From

The job numbers are the result of a monthly survey that uses U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics methodology. More than 8,000 Massachusetts employers are surveyed to determine the number of jobs by industry. These estimates are the economic indicator used to gauge the Commonwealth’s employment growth patterns.