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 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 But the same basic low-hire, low-fire trend is playing out across most of the country<\/a>. In July, nonfarm payroll employment increased in one state (Maryland), decreased in one state (New Jersey), and was essentially unchanged in 48 states and the District of Columbia.<\/p>\n New England unemployment rates in July:<\/p>\n\n