Unemployment rate jumps in the Bay State

The Massachusetts unemployment rate jumped nearly a point in May to 4.9 percent, the state's Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported.

Massachusetts employers added 1,400 payroll jobs.

The unusually large jump from 4.1 percent in April reflects the volatility of monthly employment statistics, and viewing them over a longer period probably provides a better picture of state labor markets, said Elliot Winer, chief economist at the Department of Workforce Development. Over the past three months, the jobless rate averaged about 4.5 percent.

The national jobless rate also experienced an unusually large jump in May, to 5.5 percent from 5 percent. The dynamics of the labor market during this time of the year, when the school year end and large numbers of young workers enter the labor force, can cause the wide swings in jobless estimates, US Labor Department officials said.
(By Robert Gavin, Globe staff)