Massachusetts’ unemployment rate fell to 2.8 percent in May, just one-tenth of a percentage point above the record low set in the summer and fall of 2000.
The drop, from 3.1 percent in the previous month, was driven by a shrinking workforce, according to data released on Friday by the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. The national unemployment rate in May, published two weeks ago, was 3.7 percent.
Even with fewer workers to choose from, local employers added 5,700 jobs last month. Payrolls in the state have expanded by an average of nearly 8,400 jobs a month this year.
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Other key figures from the report include:
- Job gains were led by the education and health services sector, which added 2,700 jobs from April. Government gained 1,400 jobs and trade, transportation, and utilities rose by 1,300.
- Leisure and hospitality employers shed 500 jobs last month. The financial sector lost 600 jobs.
- The state’s labor force — the number of people with a job or actively seeking one — declined by 3,800 in May, though it has edged up by 1,800 workers since the start of the year. The labor force has lost 65,700 workers since February 2020, a contraction of 1.8 percent.
The jobless rate was 1.9 percent in New Hampshire last month, matching Nebraska and South Dakota for the lowest rate in the country. Unemployment was 2.1 percent in Vermont, 2.4 percent in Maine, 3 percent in Rhode Island, and 3.7 percent in Connecticut.
Larry Edelman can be reached at larry.edelman@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeNewsEd.