BOSTON (AP) - The state’s unemployment rate has edged up for a fifth consecutive month.
The state Office of Labor and Workforce Development says the April jobless rate of 3.9 percent was up from 3.6 percent in March. The rate had dropped to as low as 2.9 percent in November.
Massachusetts continues to add jobs, however. Preliminary estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show an increase of 3,900 jobs last month.
State officials say the state’s labor force has also been increasing in recent months, an indication that more people may be returning to the workforce and looking for jobs.
The state’s April unemployment rate remained below the U.S. rate of 4.4 percent.
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