BOSTON - , June 24, 2008 --- The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development today reported over the month job gains in all twelve labor market areas in Massachusetts for which job estimates are published in May 2008 Seasonal gains were reported in construction, trade, transportation and utilities and leisure and hospitality.  The Boston-Cambridge-Quincy area added the most new jobs. The strongest percentage of job growth was reported in the Barnstable area, largely due to hiring for the summer season.

Estimates show over the year job gains in the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Framingham, Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton and Peabody areas. Employment levels were unchanged in two areas while jobs were off in six areas. The Framingham area continues to record the largest percentage increase in jobs, posting a 1.3 percent over the year growth rate. Massachusetts continues to see over the year job gains in its key growth sectors, including professional, scientific and business services. The Boston and Framingham areas report strong job growth in this particular sector. The job estimates for the local areas which follow the release last week of the state's adjusted job numbers, are not adjusted for seasonality and may show different trends than the adjusted figures.

Preliminary estimates shows that the Massachusetts portion of the Providence-Fall River-Warwick RI-MA area plus the Tisbury and Nantucket areas posted lower unemployment rates in May 2008 than in April 2008. The remaining nineteen labor market areas recorded seasonal unemployment rate gains.

Over the year, all twenty two labor areas posted higher unemployment rates.

Statewide, the preliminary May estimate shows the unadjusted unemployment rate at 4.7 percent, up from 3.9 percent in April 2008. Over the year, the rate is four tenths of a percentage point above the 4.3 percent May 2007 rate.

The statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 4.9 percent rose from 4.1 percent in April 2008. This rate is up from 4.5 percent in May 2007, but is lower than the average rate for the same period last year, which was at 4.6 percent. During each of the subsequent 12 months, the Massachusetts rate has been below the U.S. rate. The adjusted national rate surged from 5.0 percent in April to 5.5 percent in May. Seasonally adjusted estimates for May also show that during the last five months Massachusetts has added 3,900 new jobs while the national economy has shed 324,000 jobs.

NOTES: The June 2008 unemployment rate, labor force data and survey of jobs for Massachusetts will be released on July 17, 2008, local unemployment statistics will be released on July 22, 2008. Detailed labor market information is available at www.mass.gov/lmi.

*With the release of the January 2008 estimates, the data for the Pittsfield and Leominster-Fitchburg-Gardner NECTA areas are no longer validated by US DOL BLS and the historical sub-state Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) series for 2007 have been revised. As defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Metropolitan New England City and Town Areas (NECTAs) must have an urbanized area population of 50,000 or more, while a Micropolitan NECTA must have an urban cluster population of at least 10,000 but less than 50,000. A NECTA containing a single core with a population of at least 2.5 million may be subdivided to smaller groupings of cities and towns referred to as NECTA Divisions.