Massachusetts Unemployment Ticks Up as Tech Sector Feels National Slowdown

Massachusetts's unemployment rate rose modestly last month, according to state labor department figures, as a national technology sector slowdown began affecting a state economy that remains more exposed to technology and biotech employment than nearly any other in the country.

The Route 128 corridor and Kendall Square, home to large concentrations of technology and biotech firms, saw the sharpest upticks in unemployment claims, while more manufacturing and healthcare-oriented counties in other parts of the state showed comparatively little change.

"Massachusetts's economy has always had this built-in exposure that other states don't share to nearly the same degree, because such a large share of our workforce is either directly in tech or biotech, or works for a company whose primary customer is one of those sectors," said a state labor economist who tracks regional employment trends. "When there's a slowdown in tech hiring, we feel it faster and more directly than most states."

State officials said they are monitoring the situation closely, noting that the increase in claims so far has been concentrated among smaller technology companies and startups rather than the state's larger, more established biotech employers. Economic development officials said the state has been working to diversify its economy for years, pointing to growth in the clean energy and offshore wind sectors as evidence of some success, though they acknowledged technology and biotech remain the single largest drivers of the state's economic health.

Labor officials cautioned against reading too much into a single month of data, noting that Massachusetts's unemployment rate remains close to the national average even with the recent increase. State budget officials said they are watching the trend closely given its potential implications for state income tax revenue collected from technology workers.