Job market improvement "is slow, but it's still moving in the right direction," said Steve Cochrane, an economist at Moody's Analytics. There were some bright spots in the Northeast. New York and Massachusetts reported strong job gains. Massachusetts added 19,200 private-sector jobs, the largest monthly gain in more than 20 years.
The increases in Massachusetts were broad-based. They included 6,100 new jobs in hotels and restaurants, 1,600 additional jobs in retail and 2,800 new jobs in manufacturing.
The state was one of the first to see its housing sector slump, Cochrane said, and may now be exiting the downturn earlier than other states. Still, Massachusetts' unemployment rate was 9 percent in July, the same as in June.
