Massachusetts employers shed 7,200 jobs in February, backtracking after four straight months of gains, and the jobless rate ticked up to 4.8 percent, the highest level since the summer of 2021.
The job losses were led by the private education and health services sector, the state’s largest, according to federal data released Friday by the Healey administration. Jobs were also cut in the trade and transportation sector, as well as in leisure and hospitality.
When the January employment report was released earlier this month, Governor Maura Healey lauded the addition of 14,700 jobs since October. “Massachusetts is seeing a wave of businesses choosing to move and grow here,” she said.
But the February falloff underscores the fragility of the “low-hire, low-fire” job market. Layoffs are relatively low by historical standards, but job creation is anemic. In the past year, employers trimmed 17,000 positions — out of more than 3.7 million — and the unemployment rate rose by one-half of a percentage point.
February was a tough month nationally, too, with employers cutting 133,000 jobs. The drop was more than recouped in March, however, with payrolls growing by 178,000. Whether the state saw a rebound in March as well won’t be known until the next jobs report is released May 1.
Since monthly employment data are prone to swings, looking at longer time periods helps smooth out the bumps. Over the past six months, Massachusetts added 2,900 jobs, suggesting at least some stabilization in hiring.
“We are seeing some positives, including that, in the past six months, Massachusetts has outpaced the US in job growth, and we are seeing steadily increasing job postings,” Mark Rembert, chief economist at the state’s Department of Economic Research, said in a statement.
One trend moving in the wrong direction: labor force growth.
After expanding in 2023 and 2024, the number of people with a job or actively seeking one has edged lower. The decline is a result of the state’s aging work force, the net loss of residents to other states, and the Trump administration’s tough immigration restrictions. Foreign-born workers have accounted for all of the state’s labor force growth for many years.
Larry Edelman can be reached at larry.edelman@globe.com.
