Mass. adds 10,500 jobs, about double monthly average

The Massachusetts unemployment rate declined to 4.8 percent in March, a slight drop from February's rate of 4.9 percent.

The rate was the lowest in six years, according to the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, which reported the figures Thursday.

Overall, Massachusetts added 10,500 jobs last month, about double the monthly average job growth over the past year.

Those numbers compare favorably to a total of 1,300 jobs added in January and February, when the state was swamped by snow. The Massachusetts unemployment rate is also lower than the national rate of 5.5 percent.

"After a couple of slower months in January and February, probably impacted by the snowstorms, this is a healthy kind of a bounce back or an uptick in hiring that we were hoping to see," said Daniel Hodge, director of economic and public policy research at the UMass Donahue Institute.

Most of March's net employment growth was in the health and education sector, which added 5,500 jobs. Hospitality and leisure industries grew by 4,900 jobs, and manufacturers added 1,400 positions.

Professional, scientific, and business services hired 1,000 workers, and trade, transportation, and utilities, and miscellaneous services also added jobs.

The biggest loss was in construction, which shed 2,100 jobs. Finance and government also cut workers.