Massachusetts jobless rate ticks down, but jobs picture is fuzzy

Chris Lisinski

The statewide unemployment rate dropped to 3.7 percent in June, while employers added 3,400 jobs following a significant downward revision to the May figure, labor officials announced Friday.

Citing federal Bureau of Labor Statistics’ data, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development announced last month that Bay State employers added 5,500 jobs in May. But on Friday, the Baker administration said updated data slashed the May addition down to only 400 jobs.

In June, employers added 3,400 jobs, representing a sizable increase over the newly updated May figure. Most of the gains occurred in construction and professional and business services, while education and health services, manufacturing, trade, transportation and utilities, financial activities and other services all shed jobs.

Massachusetts businesses have added 613,200 jobs since April 2020, clawing back most but not all of the 689,100 jobs lost in the first two months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The unemployment rate fell slightly from 3.9 percent in May to 3.7 percent in June, one-tenth of a percentage point higher than the nationwide 3.6 percent unemployment rate.