
Jobs in Massachusetts Back to Pre-Pandemic Levels
Total employment in Massachusetts rebounded to pre-pandemic levels in January, 34 months after the COVID-19 state of emergency began, as employers added a robust 19,600 jobs.
Total employment in Massachusetts rebounded to pre-pandemic levels in January, 34 months after the COVID-19 state of emergency began, as employers added a robust 19,600 jobs.
U.S. employers added a burst of 467,000 jobs in January despite a wave of omicron inflections that sickened millions of workers, kept many consumers at home and left businesses from restaurants to manufacturers short-staffed.
America’s employers added just 235,000 jobs in August, a surprisingly weak gain after two months of robust hiring and the clearest sign to date of the delta variant’s economic impact.
The U.S. unemployment rate fell sharply in August to 8.4 percent from 10.2 percent even as employers slowed their hiring again in one of the final major barometers of the economy to be released before Election Day.
The U.S. unemployment rate fell unexpectedly in May to 13.3 percent – still on par with what the nation witnessed during the Great Depression – as states loosened their coronavirus lockdowns and businesses began recalling workers.
U.S. employers added a solid 128,000 jobs in October, a figure that was held down by a now-settled strike against General Motors that caused tens of thousands of workers to be temporarily counted as unemployed.
The state unemployment rate last month dropped below 3 percent for the first time since December 2000, falling one-tenth of a point to 2.9 percent.
U.S. businesses added a robust 271,000 jobs overall in December, according to payroll processor ADP.
Traders of U.S. short-term interest-rate futures continued to bet the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates just two times this year after a U.S. government report showed employers added fewer jobs than expected in December, even as wages picked up.
When the Federal Open Market Committee holds its final meeting of the year starting on Dec. 12, it is widely expected to increase the federal funds rate, beginning a cycle that could include three more rate hikes in 2018.
A national arts group supplied arts advocates Monday with data about how the creative sector helps drive the Bay State’s economy, and Senate President Stanley Rosenberg said Massachusetts should try to regain its standing as the national leader in arts funding.
The chief economist for the National Association of Realtors called today’s August jobs report from the U.S. Department of Labor “a bit light.”