After ending its four-month hiring streak in February, Massachusetts recouped some recent job losses in March.
Preliminary numbers released Friday by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce development show the state added 6,800 jobs in March. This comes after Massachusetts lost 7,200 jobs in February.
State data also shows Massachusetts lost 7,500 jobs since March 2025, although it added 12,700 jobs over the past six months.
The Massachusetts unemployment rate landed at 4.7% in March, ticking down from February’s 4.8% but up from 4.3% in March 2025, according to state data. The national unemployment rate was 4.3% in March.
The state’s labor force fell by 15,000 in March with 12,300 fewer people employed and 2,700 fewer unemployed, according to officials. There were also about 64,200 fewer employed people in March compared with the year before. Massachusetts’ labor force participation rate was 65.8% for the month, down from a revised 66% in February and 66.7% last year. The national labor force participation rate was 61.9% in March.
Officials said retirement has been the main driver of the decline in labor force participation in the Bay State. Participation among younger workers – aged 25 to 54 – is 86.5%, the highest it’s been in a decade, they said.
Sectors seeing job growth in March included professional and business services (3,400 jobs gained), trade, transportation and utilities (2,400 jobs), construction (2,000 jobs), and education and health services (2,000 jobs). Sectors that lost jobs were information (500 jobs), other services (600 jobs) and leisure and hospitality (2,300 jobs lost). Jobs in financial activities were level in March.
The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development said it expects to release unemployment and job estimates for April on May 22.
