State unemployment rate holds steady

The Massachusetts unemployment rate remains below the national jobless figure, after holding steady at 4.5 percent in February.

The state jobless rate posted last month and in January is up from December's rate of 4.3 percent, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development said today. The nation's unemployment rate stood at 4.8 percent last month.

February's state unemployment rate is based on a survey of households that found a 9,800-person decrease in employed residents, and a 3,700-person decline in residents without jobs. Those changes weren't big enough to shift the unemployment rate.

A separate survey of employers recorded a loss of 700 jobs in February. Losses among retailers and the construction industry were offset by job gains in a sector that includes professional, scientific and business services. (AP)