The Massachusetts unemployment rate rose two-tenths of a percentage point to 7.2 percent last month, its highest level since September 2011.
The uptick in the unemployment rate is reflective of increased confidence in the job market, Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Joanne Goldstein.
“Ironically, we think the rate has ticked slightly up because there is increased confidence in the economy and the job market, and more individuals have entered the labor force,” Goldstein said.
Meaning people are actively looking for work, which is something they wouldn’t be doing if they didn’t think jobs were out there.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the state added just 300 jobs in July, but Goldstein says that figure is misleading.
“Although the net gain was 300 jobs, in fact, the estimates indicate that we added 2,500 jobs in the private sector. When that was balanced against the loss of gov’t jobs, that’s how we ended up with only a net gain of 300. But we think the important number there is the private sector gain of 2,500 jobs,” she said.
Goldstein said most of the government jobs lost were in the education sector because of schools letting out for the summer.
