Mass. tops U.S. in unemployment drop

The Massachusetts unemployment rate had the largest month-to-month drop of any state in the country in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.

Massachusetts had an unemployment rate of 4.4 percent, down 0.9 percentage points from February, said the bureau, which is part of the US Department of Labor.

The jobless rate in Massachusetts had been in the 4.8- to 5.3-percent range since April 2004, the bureau said.

Meanwhile, the New England unemployment rate fell 0.5 percentage points to 4.2 percent in March, compared with a 4.4 percent national jobless rate in March, the bureau said.

The New England unemployment rate was down over the year, dropping 0.4 percentage points during the 12-month period, noted BLS regional commissioner Denis M. McSweeney.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)