State Adds 7,400 Jobs; Jobless Rate Falls
On Thursday Massachusetts’ Office of Labor and Workforce Development issued its monthly jobs report. The report showed that in May the state had its ninth month in a row of job growth, with 7,400 new jobs added. The Boston Herald notes that most of these jobs came from the construction sector, which added 3,500 jobs. Additionally, the state’s unemployment rate declined for the month, falling 0.1% to 4.6%. The unemployment rate is now at pre-recession levels, and is the lowest since December 2007. Northeastern University Economist Alan Clayton-Matthews said, “In the past year, we’ve been showing very strong labor force and household employment growth. The job growth has led to households having more income, that means more spending, that leads to more demand for services, and that leads to more hiring.”
This positive assessment is also reflected in US Labor Department data that showed Boston’s wages and salaries rose about 4% above last year’s during Q1 2015, the Boston Globe reports. Boston has been generally recovering on growth in the healthcare, technology, and biotechnology sectors, the Globe says. However, statewide unemployment “is still well above the levels during the last tech boom,” when joblessness hit a low of 2.6% in May 2000. The Globe notes that in addition to construction sector jobs, in May there were 1,500 jobs added in the retail sector, 700 in the financial sector, 600 in manufacturing, and 500 in health services and education.
What This Means For Small Businesses
Boston’s small business community needs encouraging signs of a strong local and state economy. The latest state jobs data should be welcome news for business owners, as it shows the state is continuing to recover from the recession at a rate well above the national average, indicating a positive business climate in the state.
Additional Reading
NFIB previously covered Massachusetts job growth.
