During a year that featured speculation about a recession and a third quarter contraction, Massachusetts employers managed to add nearly 50,000 jobs and the state’s unemployment rate remained at 2.9 percent in November for the fifth straight month.

State officials reported Friday morning that employers added 5,200 jobs in November, with over-the-year job gains totaling 48,600, based on federal Bureau of Labor Statistics data. State Labor Secretary Rosalin Acosta said education and health services employers accounted for nearly half of all private sector jobs added since December 2018.

Financial activities and the leisure and hospitality sectors also posted solid gains. Job levels at Massachusetts manufacturers were flat over the past year, and construction jobs over the year down slightly. Labor constraints were flagged by economists as a culprit behind a third quarter economic contraction in Massachusetts. The labor department reported Friday that the state’s labor force grew by 0.4 percent over the past year.

Source: SHNS