BOSTON – The unemployment rate in Massachusetts fell slightly in February, according to the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.
The report showed that the statewide unemployment rate is at 7.1%, down 0.7 percentage points over the course of the month.
Preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that Massachusetts gained 14,100 jobs last month, while the private sector added 22,300 jobs.
The state unemployment rate for February came in at 0.9 percentage points higher than the 6.2% rate for the nation as a whole.
According to the state, the sectors that saw the biggest increases in jobs within Massachusetts last month were the leisure and hospitality industry (10,300 jobs for a 4% increase), as well as the professional, scientific, and business services industry (9,400 jobs for a 1.6% increase).
Meanwhile, the industries that saw the biggest hits were the government (8,200 jobs for a 1.9% decline), construction (2,300 jobs for a 1.4% decline), and information (300 jobs for a 0.3% decline) sectors.
The statewide labor force fell by 11,900 in February 2021, leaving it down by 0.1 percentage points compared to last February.
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