Massachusetts Jobless Rate Could Top National Rate For First Time Since 2007
BOSTON (AP) — It's been more than six years since the monthly unemployment rate in Massachusetts has been higher than the U.S. average as a whole.
That could possibly change when the state's November jobs report is released Thursday.
The national unemployment rate for November dropped to a five-year low of 7 percent.
The Massachusetts jobless rate has been creeping up of late and stood at 7.2 percent in October. If it does not decline by at least two-tenths of a point, November would mark the first month since May 2007 that the Bay State's jobless rate was above the national rate.
State officials insist the higher rate is not reflective of overall economic growth in Massachusetts. They point to the creation of about 52,000 private sector jobs in the past 12 months.
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