The local economy of Massachusetts and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data.
Unemployment rate
4.3%
August 2026, 4.5% a year ago
Average weekly pay
$2,201
Q1 2026, 3,552,946 jobs
New homes permitted
13,778
Last 12 months to August 2026
Net people moving in
-30,460
2022 to 2023
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for its history.
The newest unemployment rate, pay, new home permits, moves and gas price for Massachusetts, updated as new official numbers come out.
Unemployment for Massachusetts is seasonally adjusted; for its counties, metro areas and cities it is not, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Pay covers all jobs that pay into unemployment insurance. Building permits count homes approved to be built, not homes sold. Moves count households by where they filed their tax returns in two years in a row.
The unemployment rate in Massachusetts was 4.3% in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted, preliminary), compared with 4.5% a year earlier. 3,705,532 people were employed out of a labor force of 3,871,860. Among its counties, Nantucket County/town had the lowest rate (2.7%) and Hampden County the highest (5.7%, not seasonally adjusted).
Average weekly pay in Massachusetts was $2,201 in Q1 2026, up 4.8% from a year earlier, across 3,552,946 jobs at 296,429 business locations.
Building permits were issued for 1,207 new homes in Massachusetts in August 2026 (445 single-family and 697 in buildings with 5 or more units). From January to August the total was 9,280, up 22.8% from the same months last year, and 13,778 in the last 12 months. The most homes were permitted in Middlesex County (2,876), Suffolk County (2,158), Worcester County (1,826) over the last 12 months.
No, more people moved out than in. From 2022 to 2023, 119,934 people moved to Massachusetts and 150,394 moved away, a net loss of 30,460 (-5.5 per 1,000 residents). Most newcomers came from New York, Florida, New Hampshire, and most people who left went to Florida, New York, New Hampshire.
Regular gasoline in Massachusetts averaged $4.32 per gallon in the week of September 28, 2026.