Mass. Unemployment Rate Up Slightly, Despite An Increase In Jobs

The unemployment rate remained at a low 5 percent in November for a second straight month, the government said.

MA added 5,900 jobs last month, according to preliminary federal estimates out Thursday, and the state unemployment rate ticked up one-tenth of a percentage point, to 4.7 percent.

Jobless rates in York, Chester and Lancaster counties also dropped in November, the employment department said.

In all, Texas added 16,300 jobs, with more than half the increase coming from the construction industry, according to seasonally adjusted state numbers measuring non-farm employment, the Texas Workforce Commission reported. Private industries with the most job growth year over year were education and health services, up by 5,444; trade, transportation and utilities, up by 3,544; and financial activities, up by 3,119.

In a year-over-year comparison (November 2014 to November 2015), nonfarm payroll employment in California increased by 417,100 jobs (up 2.6 percent). More than 2.1 million had jobs, an increase of more than 9,000 from October. This time, the rate dropped because more Los Angeles residents reported they were working; in previous months the rate had fallen as more people dropped out of the labor force.

The last time the state’s unemployment rate was 5 percent was in April 2008, DWS said.

Williamson County marked the state’s lowest rate at 3.9 percent, followed by Moore County at 4.1 percent and Davidson at 4.2 percent.

Meanwhile, California’s unemployment rate dipped slightly in November to 5.7 percent. “Georgia continues to grow jobs faster than the nation, which has a 1.9 percent growth rate”.

The state added 68,300 jobs in the first 11 months of the year, a record for data going back to 1976. Policy makers separately forecast an appropriate rate of 1.375 percent at the end of 2016, the same as September, implying four quarter-point increases in the target range next year, based on the median number from 17 officials.

In October, the states unemployment rate was 5.8 percent, and in November 2014, the unemployment rate was 7.2 percent. There were losses in several sectors, including trade, transportation, and utilities (5,700). That compares with an average of 271,000 during the comparable employment survey period for November.