Mass. Unemployment Held At 4.3 Percent In July, Matches National Rate

The state's unemployment rate remained steady at 4.3 percent in July, matching the national rate for the first time in nearly a decade.

The last time the Massachusetts figure mirrored the national one was April 2008, when both were at 5 percent, according to the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.

"Although the unemployment rate remains low, we continue to see persistent gaps between the skill sets of available workers and the qualifications needed for in-demand jobs," Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Rosalin Acosta said in a statement Thursday. "Our workforce development agencies remain committed to closing that skills gap and helping the chronically unemployed receive the training they need to access a successful career in Massachusetts."

There were 33,000 more unemployed people in Massachusetts in July 2017 than in the same month last year, when the unemployment rate was 3.6 percent, labor officials said. Massachusetts has added 45,200 jobs since July 2016, according to preliminary estimates.

The estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show Massachusetts lost 200 jobs in July.

From June to July, the construction, financial activities, manufacturing, and education and health services sectors added jobs, according to labor officials, while jobs were lost in trade, transportation and utilities; leisure and hospitality; information; professional, scientific and business services; other services; and government.

The unemployment rate rose to 4.3 percent in June from 4.2 percent in May.