The Massachusetts unemployment rate dropped to 4.8 percent in March with the state hitting its highest labor participation rate since June 2010, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development announced today.

The Bay State’s jobless rate plunged 1.1 percent from its March 2014 rate of 5.9 percent. It was 4.9 percent in February of this year. The national unemployment rate in March was reported at 5.5 percent.

The share of working-age residents employed or unemployed, also known as the labor participation rate, was 66.2, an increase of 0.3 of a percentage point since February. The March rate is the highest participation rate since June 2010. Compared with March 2014, the labor participation rate increased a full percentage point over the year.

Over the month, jobs were up 10,500 with a private sector gain of 10,700. Since March 2014, jobs grew by 60,200 with 49,400 private sector job gains. Education and health services and professional, scientific and business services had the largest job gains over the year, of 2.7 percent and 3.1 percent, respectively.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics revised its February job estimate to a 400 over the month job gain from the 800 gain previously reported for the month.