After Strong U.S. Report, Mass. Adds 16,400 Jobs In June

The national employment report for June far exceeded analysts' expectations, with the country adding an estimated 287,000 jobs last month.

Following as it often does, the Massachusetts report shows a similar jump in employment.

The state added 16,400 jobs in June, according to preliminary estimates released Thursday.

The report indicates that "some of the job gains reflect the resolution of a temporary labor dispute in the Information sector." That refers to the Verizon workers' strike, which ended after a contract agreement on May 31.

Thursday's report also revised down job losses from the previous month — from an originally estimated 6,400 to 5,200. May's losses were partly attributed to the Verizon strike.

For the first half of 2016, Massachusetts added 48,100 jobs, according to preliminary estimates. Those figures are subject to further revision.

The state unemployment rate remained at 4.2 percent last month. That's below the national level of 4.9 percent.

One negative note in Thursday's report: The state labor force participation rate -- that is, people working and actively seeking work — dipped in June, from 65 percent in May to 64.9 percent.

The jobs numbers are based on a survey of employers, while the unemployment rate is based on a survey of households.