Unemployment

The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported today that the preliminary June job estimates show 3,235,100 jobs in Massachusetts, an increase of 10,400 jobs, with 10,300 jobs added in the private sector. The total unemployment rate in June was unchanged at 7.6 percent. At 7.6 percent for two consecutive months, the Massachusetts unemployment remains well below the 9.2 percent national rate. Both the unemployment rate and the number of unemployed residents are the lowest since February of 2009.

The funding, a National Emergency Grant, will be dispersed by the Bristol Workforce Investment Board and the Metro South/West Employment and Training Administration, according to an announcement by the Department of Labor on Thursday. It will help approximately 720 workers who were laid off from the distribution center, corporate headquarters or retail stores. The grant totals an average of nearly $6,000 for each of the 720 former workers.

The city’s unemployment rate inched below 15 percent in May, a slight decrease attributable more to people leaving the unemployment ranks than to more people working. The rate fell 0.2 percentage points to 14.9, but the number of people working in the city dropped by 137, according to the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.

For years, federal officials who track economic data have tried to get more accurate numbers for job gains and losses in each state, especially from those with smaller populations, which carry a greater potential for statistical error, Brown said. The latest development in that effort happened in March, when the BLS took over responsibility from state-level labor and workforce development agencies of the employment survey, which produces the monthly job numbers.

The unemployment rate fell to 7.6 percent last month, the lowest level in more than two years, but the decline from 7.8 percent in April appeared largely driven by people giving up job searches, according to data released yesterday by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. Only those who actively seek work are counted as unemployed.

The state Office of Labor and Workforce Training announced Tuesday that the region’s unemployment picture is improving: The rate fell a full percentage point, from 9.5 percent to 8.5 percent, between March and April. The number of people working rose by 1,154, while those in the labor market dropped by 170.

Springfield's unemployment rate fell in April to 11.6 percent, down 1.2 percentage points from 12.8 percent in March.

The jobless rate in the Worcester metropolitan area hit 7.9 percent in April, down from 8.9 percent during the same month last year, according to data released today by the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.

A local economist cautioned that job conditions may not be as robust as they appear, and reiterated that Massachusetts is more likely to experience slower growth in the near future. Alan Clayton-Matthews, a Northeastern University economics professor, questioned whether some of the new hiring is seasonal or involves temporary jobs that could disappear by fall.