BOSTON, MA – July 21, 2023 – The state’s June total unemployment rate was 2.6 percent, down 0.2 percentage points from the revised May estimate of 2.8 percent, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development announced Friday.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) preliminary job estimates indicate Massachusetts lost 4,500 jobs in June. This follows May’s revised gain of 7,300 jobs. The largest over-the-month private sector job gains were in Professional, Scientific, and Business Services, Financial Activities, and Leisure and Hospitality. Employment now stands at 3,762,800. Massachusetts gained 701,200 jobs since the employment low in April 2020.

From June 2022 to June 2023, BLS estimates Massachusetts gained 96,200 jobs. The largest over-the-year gains occurred in Education and Health Services, Professional, Scientific, and Business Services, and Leisure and Hospitality.

The state’s June unemployment rate of 2.6 percent was 1.0 percentage point below the national rate of 3.6 percent reported by BLS