Massachusetts Unemployment Rate Down To 11.3% For August; Biggest Drop In Country
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Massachusetts unemployment rate dropped nearly 5 percentage points from July to August - the largest decrease in the country according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Bay State's unemployment rate for August was 11.3%.
"In August, the largest unemployment rate decreases occurred in Massachusetts (-4.9 percentage points) and Arizona (-4.8 points)," BLS said in a news release.
Back in July, Massachusetts had the highest unemployment rate in the country at 16.2%. In June it was 17.7%, also higher than anywhere else in the United States.
August's numbers show Nevada has the highest unemployment rate at 13.2%, followed by Rhode Island at 12.8%. Unemployment went down in 41 states overall from July to August as the labor market slowly recovers amid the coronavirus pandemic. Rhode Island and Kentucky were the only two states to see increases.
Massachusetts' unemployment rate for August was still higher than the national average of 8.4%. It's estimated that the state added about 51,600 jobs.
There were 401,200 unemployed Massachusetts residents in August. Learn more about applying for unemployment in Massachusetts here.