Ends Nearly Two-Year Streak of Comparatively Lower Joblessness in Bay State
Massachusetts experienced the same 4.1 percent unemployment rate in December as the country as a whole, officials said Friday, ending a nearly two-year streak of comparatively lower joblessness in the Bay State.
Labor officials announced that the Massachusetts unemployment rate last month inched upward one-tenth of a percentage point, from 4 percent in November. The national unemployment rate ticked downward over the same span from 4.2 percent to 4.1 percent.
The last time the statewide rate was equal to or greater than the national rate was in March 2023, when both stood at 3.5 percent, though in several months during that span Massachusetts fared better than the country by only a fraction of a percentage point.
From December 2023 to December 2024, the statewide unemployment rate increased 0.9 percentage points.
Bay State employers added 6,000 jobs in December, officials also said, after shedding a revised 1,500 positions in November.
Joblessness is fairly low, but Massachusetts employers are still feeling pressure with the rates they pay to fund unemployment benefits forecast to rise in the coming years.
Businesses could face additional strain as the state works to repay the federal government $2.1 billion over the next 10 years due to a mistake by the Baker administration. Gov. Maura Healey’s team announced last week that principal payments for that debt will come from the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, an account funded by a tax on employers.
