BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts’ unemployment rate increased to 7.4% in December as the state lost 600 jobs, state officials announced Friday.
The December rate was up 0.7% over the previous month, according to the state’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. It was also 0.7% more than the the national unemployment rate of 6.7% reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The state’s largest job losses were in the leisure and hospitality industries, which lost 9,200 jobs over the previous month for a 3.8% decrease. Over the past year, those industries have lost 145,800 jobs, a 38% drop.
The December job losses come a month after the state added 12,600 jobs.
From December 2019 to December 2020, the state’s Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates Massachusetts has lost a total of 335,400 jobs.
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