The Massachusetts labor market is treading water, its head still above the surface \u2014 but not by much.<\/p>\n
Employers shed 4,600 jobs in July, erasing a good chunk of the revised 6,000 positions they added in the prior month, according to federal data released by the state on Friday<\/a>. The unemployment rate, unchanged at 4.4 percent, remained higher than the 4.1 percent national rate.<\/p>\n The good news is that layoffs are low. The bad news: hiring is anemic. The stasis is clear when looking at the numbers for the past 12 months:<\/p>\n Total employment increased by just 5,800, or less than 0.2 percent, since July 2025. Excluding gains in health care and private education, the state lost 6,800 jobs. The jobless rate is a slim 0.1 percentage point lower than it was a year ago.The labor force \u2014 the total number of people with jobs and those actively looking for one \u2014 has shrunk by 2,700 due to retirements and lower immigration. (The prime-age labor force of 25- to 54-year-olds has expanded.)<\/p>\n As the Globe previously reported<\/a>, Massachusetts added fewer private-sector jobs on a percentage basis than 41 other states over the five years through May. One reason for the underperformance: The state ranked dead last in the nation in new business formations as a percentage of private employment in both 2024 and 2025. Young companies drive job creation.<\/p>\n