Massachusetts Unemployment Rate Drops To 9.6%
BOSTON (CBS/AP) --The Massachusetts unemployment rate for September was 9.6%, down nearly 2 percentage points from the August rate of 11.4%, the state announced Friday.
It's estimated that Massachusetts added 36,900 jobs last month. But the toll of the coronavirus pandemic is still clear, with Massachusetts losing 351,800 jobs since September of 2019.
Data for September shows that overall, just over 3.4 million Massachusetts residents were employed and 365,400 were unemployed.
Back in June, Massachusetts unemployment peaked at 17.7%, the highest in the country.
New Hampshire's unemployment rate for September was 6%, a slight decrease from August
Nationally, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for September was 7.9%, a decrease of 0.5 percentage points from the August rate, and an increase of 4.4 percentage points from the September 2019 rate.
Learn more about applying for unemployment benefits in Massachusetts here.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)