Job growth flat in January, but MA still recovering

BOSTON (WWLP) - State statistics show no movement in January unemployment numbers, but Massachusetts still added more jobs than previously estimated. 

According to the state's Labor office , the 6.7% unemployment rate in Massachusetts did not budge from December to January. Still, figures show Massachusetts employers did add more than 16,000 jobs in January. 

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics also found that Massachusetts added more than 32,000 jobs than previously estimated for 2011 and 2012.  State lawmakers say the numbers are evidence that Massachusetts is slowly recovering from a weak economy.

“It's very exciting. It means that we are ahead of the country in terms of job creation, and that is one of the reasons why the economy is improving faster than the rest of the country,” said Sen. Stanley Rosenberg (D-Amherst).

The national unemployment rate is 7.9%.

The revised numbers show that Massachusetts employers added nearly 93,000 jobs overall in 2011 and 2012.