Massachusetts Unemployment Rises Slightly

Massachusetts labor officials say the state's unemployment rate rose slightly last month even though the state added 1,600 jobs. The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development announced its preliminary July estimates Thursday. In the first month of the new fiscal year, the state saw job gains in four of the ten private sectors, including professional, scientific and business services, construction and manufacturing. Officials said the largest gain came in the education and health services sector. While the state added jobs the total unemployment rate rose from 6 percent in June to 6.1 percent in July, the first increase in nearly three years. But officials said the unemployment rate is down 1.3 percentage points from the previous July. The national unemployment rate is 8.3 percent. (AP)