Mass. Unemployment Rate Drops To 7.3 Percent
BOSTON (AP) -- Massachusetts officials are reporting a one-tenth of a point drop in the state's unemployment rate last month, despite a decrease in jobs.
The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development said Thursday that the September jobless rate stood at 7.3 percent, down from 7.4 percent in August.
Massachusetts remains well below the national unemployment rate of 9.1 percent.
Preliminary estimates showed there were 2,300 fewer jobs in Massachusetts in September than in the previous month. But officials say the state has gained nearly 50,000 jobs over the past 12 months for a growth rate of 1.5 percent, compared to a national job growth rate of 1.1 percent over the same period.
The state's monthly unemployment rate is at its lowest point since January 2009.
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