| December’s jobs report was slightly cloudier than originally estimated and in January the unemployment rate rose to 3.2 percent in Massachusetts, according to the state job numbers released on Thursday.
The revised account from the Office of Labor and Workforce Development shows the Massachusetts unemployment rate was 3.1 percent in December, not 2.8 percent as initially reported by the government.
While there was a slight uptick in the unemployment rate in January, the state also added 13,000 jobs in the first month of the year, according to the labor office. From January 2016 to January 2017, the state added 65,100 jobs, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates reported by the state.
The unemployment rate had been on a long-term steady decline and still remains in territory last seen about 16 years ago. It is also well below the 4.8 percent national unemployment rate.
“Massachusetts continues to experience low levels of unemployment with the largest year over year percentage gains in jobs in the construction, education and health services sectors,” Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Ronald Walker said in a statement.
The unemployment rate was last at 3.2 percent in October. According to revised figures, the last uptick in the state’s unemployment rate was between January and February of 2013 when it rose from 6.7 percent to 6.8 percent.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer on Wednesday touted employment indicators showing job growth since President Donald Trump took office, crediting a “wave of optimism” for the employment bump. Trump has promised to cut regulations and push for the purchase of products created within the United States.
The employment-focused social network LinkedIn reported that January and February were the strongest consecutive months for hiring since August and September of 2015, and payroll processor ADP reported that the 298,000 private-sector jobs added in February beat the forecast of 189,000 jobs.
While unemployment has dramatically decreased from the peak of 8.8 percent during the Great Recession, state tax revenues have shown modest growth, often failing to meet the more optimistic official estimates of governors and legislative leaders.
Eight months into fiscal 2017, state tax collections are up by $305 million, or 2 percent, according to the state Department of Revenue, and are trailing budget benchmarks by $134 million. February collections were off by $96 million compared to February 2016, and ran 9.1 percent, or $117 million below benchmark.
Jobs reports come out on a different schedule at the start of the year. The initial February jobs report is due out March 23.
According to the Office of Labor and Workforce Development, the state’s total labor force in January was about 3.6 million people, with about 3.5 million employed and 113,800 unemployed.
