HYANNIS – The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development recently announced that the state’s unemployment rate rose by one tenth of a percent in October, bringing the total number to 5.3 percent.
Calculations by the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that Massachusetts gained 25,000 jobs in October, increasing the number of employed residents to 3,529,400, with 196,900 unemployed residents.
The total labor force rose by 5,600, for a total labor force of 3,726,300, with a gain of 1,600 more employed residents while 4,000 became unemployed.
The largest gains were in the Professional and Business Services Sector, which gained 9,700 jobs for a 1.6 percent gain.
Leisure and Hospitality; Education and Health Services; and Trade, Transportation, and Utilities each gained over 4,500 new jobs, with gains of 1.6, 0.6 and 0.8 percent, respectively.
The Financial Services and Government sector lost 700 and 900 jobs, or 0.3 and 0.2 percent.
The statewide unemployment rate for October was 0.7% higher than the national average of 4.6%.
Over the year long period from October 2020 to October 2021, the state estimated that Massachusetts gained 197,200 jobs, with every major sector seeing an increase.
The largest gains over the yearly period were in Leisure and Hospitality, which gained 51,100 jobs, or 19.7 percent, as well as Professional, Scientific, and Business Services; and Trade, Transportation, and Utilities.
Data used to determine the unemployment rate is based on a monthly sample of reporting data from households, while job estimates are derived from monthly surveys by employers.
By, Matthew Tomlinson, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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