Massachusetts employers added 15,400 jobs in August while the statewide unemployment rate hovered at a near-historic low, labor officials announced Friday.
Total employment bounced up to 3,788,700, the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development announced, which is the highest level in years. Employers added considerably more jobs in August than they did in July, which had a revised gain of 4,600.
The biggest month-over-month increases occurred in government (6,500 jobs added), education and health services (3,500 jobs added), and leisure and hospitality (2,100 jobs added). Manufacturing, trade, transportation and utilities, and information sectors each reported slight losses in August.
The statewide unemployment rate, which is based on a different survey from the one that produces jobs numbers, ticked up one-tenth of a percentage point to 2.6 percent in August, officials said.
That’s still the second-lowest unemployment rate since at least 1976, topped only by the 2.5 percent reported in July. It’s also lower than the national rate, which stood at 3.8 percent in August.
Many employers and businesses in Massachusetts for months have been describing struggles attracting and retaining enough talented workers to fill open positions.
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