Jobs Up, Unemployment Rate Down In April

The unemployment rate in Massachusetts dropped slightly in April as employers added 10,500 jobs, state officials reported Friday.

The labor department announced a 4.1 percent jobless rate, down from 4.3 percent in March, with more jobs being filled in leisure and hospitality, a sector that ebbs and flows depending on seasonal tourism.

State officials reported that Massachusetts has gained back more than 611,000 jobs since the “employment trough” in April 2020, just after COVID-19 struck. From April 2021 to April 2022, Massachusetts gained 178,400 jobs, according to federal estimates.

The newly reported state unemployment rate is half a percentage point higher than the national jobless rate.

With state reserves flush with historically high levels of cash, the Baker administration and House and Senate Democrats are looking to advance numerous spending and economic development proposals, and perhaps some tax cuts, over the next 10 weeks.