Jobs

Looking for a Job? Massachusetts Added 60,900 New Jobs in 2014

Last year, Massachusetts gained more jobs than it had since 2000, significantly dropping the unemployment rate.

Good news for Massachusetts residents entering the workforce or looking for a new job: the state added a total of 60,900 jobs in the past year, most of them from private companies.

Almost 11,000 of those jobs were added during December, according to an Office of Labor and Workforce Development report. With more job opportunities in Massachusetts, the state’s unemployment rate fell to just 5.5 percent as of December 2014, 1.6 percent lower than the unemployment rate a year prior.

This is the biggest amount of jobs gained in Massachusetts since 2000. The state reported 53,100 jobs gained for the past two years and more than 35,000 jobs lost in 2008, The Boston Globe reports.

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Education and health services gained the most jobs in 2014, with 19,300 added positions reported. Professional, scientific and business services are also make up a significant portion of job gains with 12,900 extra job opportunities this year.

The Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported 51,400 fewer Massachusetts residents were unemployed compared to its December 2013 numbers, and 134,700 more employed.

Find out what's happening in Plymouthfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

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