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Mass. jobless rate falls to 6.8%, lowest in three years

Unemployment hit 3-year low in Dec. Layoffs may indicate a slowdown ahead

By Erin Ailworth

 |  Globe Staff  

  January 19, 2012

The Massachusetts unemployment rate last month fell below 7 percent for the first time in three years, the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported today. The state jobless rate declined to 6.8 percent from 7 percent in November. It was the lowest unemployment rate since December 2008. Employers, however, cut more than 6,000 jobs last month, and revised data showed they added far fewer in November than initially reported, according to the state employment report.

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