Minnesota unemployment rate falls slightly in September to 3.8 percent but

The Massachusetts unemployment rate dipped one tenth of a percent to 4.6 percent in September, though the state lost more than 7,000 jobs, according to jobs numbers released Thursday by the Office of Labor and Workforce Development.

The September state unemployment rate is below the national unemployment rate of 5.1 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The over the year employment change in the Duluth-Superior metropolitan statistical area was up.

“Massachusetts unemployment rate continues to decline”.

The September job losses were led by the education and health services sector, which shed 4,700 positions, and the trade, transportation and utilities sector, which lost 3,000 jobs over the month.

The number of unemployed persons in Tennessee is the lowest since February 2008, Phillips said in a press release. The US unemployment rate is now 5.1 percent.

The biggest September job gains came in leisure and hospitality services.

The BLS estimates Washington gained 81,700 jobs from September 2014 to September 2015, on a not seasonally adjusted basis, with 71,900 new jobs in the private sector and 9,800 new jobs in the public sector. That equates to about 35,400 people employed this year who were not this time last year.

There are signs the economy has slowed in recent weeks, in part because the strong dollar has cut into exports and overall hiring has weakened.