Massachusetts Umemployment Rate Was 5% in March

Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD) reported the seasonally unadjusted unemployment rates for March were down in all 24 labor market areas over the month and over the year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics press release.

During March, 12 of the 15 areas for which job estimates are published recorded seasonal job gains, one area had no change in jobs and the remaining two areas lost jobs.

The largest job gains were in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Worcester, Springfield, Barnstable Town and Peabody-Salem-Beverly areas.

In order to compare the statewide rate to the local unemployment rates, Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the statewide unadjusted unemployment rate for March was 5.0 percent, down 0.4 of a percentage point from the revised February 2015 rate.

Over the year, the statewide unadjusted rate was down 1.3 percent from the March 2014 rate of 6.3 percent.

The seasonally adjusted statewide March unemployment rate, released on April 16, 2015 was 4.8 percent, down 0.1 of a percentage point over the month and down 1.1 percent over the year. The rate was 0.7 of a percentage point below the national unemployment rate.

The statewide seasonally adjusted jobs estimate showed an 10,500 job gain in March and an over the year gain of 60,200 jobs.

The labor force, unemployment rates and jobs estimates for Massachusetts, and for every other state, are based on several different statistical methodologies specified by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The unadjusted unemployment rates and job estimates for the labor market areas reflect seasonal fluctuations and therefore may show different levels and trends than the statewide seasonally adjusted estimates.