The state’s April total unemployment rate is up 12.3 percentage points at 15.1 percent, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development announced Friday.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ preliminary job estimates indicate Massachusetts lost 623,000 jobs in April. This follows last month’s revised loss of 43,800 jobs. The monthly change in the job estimates reflects the ongoing impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Over the month, the private sector lost 597,100 jobs as losses occurred in all sectors, the largest of which occurred in Leisure and Hospitality; Trade, Transportation, and Utilities; Education and Health Services; Construction; and Other Services. Government lost jobs over the month.
From April 2019 to April 2020, BLS estimates Massachusetts lost 638,000 jobs.
The only private sector job gain over the year was in Information. The remaining private sectors lost jobs over the year with the largest percentage losses in Leisure and Hospitality; Other Services; Construction; and Trade, Transportation, and Utilities.
The April unemployment rate was four-tenths of a percentage point higher than the national rate of 14.7 percent reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The labor force decreased by 364,700 from 3,772,000 in March, as 773,500 fewer residents were employed and 408,700 more residents were unemployed over the month.
Over the year, the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased by 12.1 percentage points.
The state’s labor force participation rate – the total number of residents 16 or older who worked or were unemployed and actively sought work in the last four weeks – dropped to 60.3 percent. Compared to April 2019, the labor force participation rate is down by 7.2 percentage points.
April 2020 Employment Overview
•Leisure and Hospitality lost 216,200 (-61.0%) jobs over the month. Over the year, Leisure and Hospitality lost 237,500 (-63.2%) jobs.
•Trade, Transportation and Utilities lost 112,700 (-19.5%) jobs over the month. Over the year, Trade, Transportation and Utilities lost 113,700 (-19.7%) jobs.
•Education and Health Services lost 85,900 (-10.6%) jobs over the month. Over the year, Education and Health Services lost 82,900 (-10.2%) jobs.
•Construction lost 60,000 (-37.1%) jobs over the month. Over the year, Construction has lost 60,700 (-37.4%) jobs.
•Other Services lost 48,100 (-35.7%) jobs over the month. Over the year, Other Services are down -52,500 (-37.8%) jobs.
•Professional, Scientific and Business Services lost 45,600 (-7.5%) jobs over the month. Over the year, Professional, Scientific and Business Services lost 42,800 (-7.1%) jobs.
•Manufacturing lost 21,400 (-8.8%) jobs over the month. Over the year, Manufacturing lost 22,400 (-9.2%) jobs.
•Financial Activities lost 6,700 (-3.0%) jobs over the month. Over the year, Financial Activities lost 4,200 (-1.9%) jobs.
•Information lost 400 (-0.4%) jobs over the month. Over the year, Information added 2,000 (+2.2%) jobs.
•Government lost 25,900 (-5.6%) jobs over the month. Over the year, Government lost 23,200 (-5.1%) jobs.
Labor Force Overview
The April estimates show 2,891,600 Massachusetts residents were employed and 515,700 were unemployed, for a total labor force of 3,407,300. The unemployment rate was up by 12.3 percentage points at 15.1 percent. The April labor force decreased by 364,700 from 3,772,000 in March, as 773,500 fewer residents were employed and 408,700 more residents were unemployed over the month. The labor force participation rate, the share of working age population employed and unemployed, was down at 60.3 percent. The labor force was down 393,800 from the 3,801,100 April 2019 estimate, with 795,700 fewer residents employed and 401,900 more residents unemployed.
The unemployment rate is based on a monthly sample of households. The job estimates are derived from a monthly sample survey of employers. As a result, the two statistics may exhibit different monthly trends. The Bureau of Labor Statistics implemented the Current Population Survey level-shift outliers into the estimation models to incorporate the state claims inputs starting with the revised March estimates. These level shifts preserved movements in published estimates that the models otherwise would have discounted as sampling error.
Local area unemployment statistics for April 2020 will be released on Tuesday, May 26, 2020. The preliminary May 2020 and revised April 2020 unemployment rate, labor force and job estimates for Massachusetts will be released on Friday, June 19, 2020.
