Bay State Job growth slowed substantially in August as employers added 2,600 jobs and the statewide unemployment rate ticked upward to an even 5 percent, labor officials announced Friday.
After holding flat at 4.9 percent in July, the Massachusetts unemployment rate increased by one-tenth of a percentage point in August, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development said.
The number of jobs gained in August was just a fraction of the revised 41,600 added in July and represented the smallest one-month increase this year.
Businesses have added nearly 460,000 jobs since April 2020, though total statewide employment remains about 195,000 positions below March 2020, when the COVID-19 crisis upended public life and inflicted deep wounds on many sectors.
Government, construction, other services, and leisure and hospitality sectors added jobs in August, while education and health services, manufacturing, trade, transportation and utilities, professional and business services, financial activities, and information industries shed workers, officials said.
