A recent Bloomberg article  cites a number of reasons to expect that the U.S. will add more jobs in 2012 than it has in any of the past six years. The article sites a growth in jobs in the manufacturing sector, an increase over the past six months in engineering and technology jobs, and optimism that more hiring will expand the country’s economy.

The Massachusetts unemployment rate last month fell to 7%, its lowest rate in nearly three years, as employers added jobs for the second consecutive month, the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported last Friday.

In Massachusetts, unemployment fell to 7 percent in November, down from 7.3 percent in October and well below the national rate of 8.6 percent.  Massachusetts employers added 5,000 jobs in November, while nationally 120,000 jobs were added last month. The largest increase in new jobs in Massachusetts last month was in the leisure and hospitality industries.

Other indicators that the economy is improving, include: more employers say they plan to hire; online job advertisements have increased and fewer people are applying for unemployment benefits.

The Massachusetts unemployment rate remains at 7.3 percent and state employers added 10,800 jobs in October, according to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.

The positive news surprised some local economic experts in light of economic uncertainty around the world and a higher (9 percent) national unemployment figure.

According to a survey by The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), employers plan to hire 9.5 percent more graduates from the Class of 2012 than they hired from the Class of 2011.  More than half of employers surveyed said they’re focusing on hiring business, engineering and computer sciences graduates.

The survey also found that:

• Although they plan to hire more graduates this year, many say the openings are related to attrition
• Employers anticipate wrapping up the majority of their recruiting efforts in the fall semester
• Employers plan to monitor hiring needs on a quarterly, or more frequent, basis

Read more here.

This recent story from Fox Business News, Full-Time Employment: A Thing of the Past? underscores the popularity of temporary and contract employment in today’s economy. However, when it comes to health insurance benefits the article fails to mention that many temporary staffing agencies, including PSG, offer subsidized health insurance. Read more about PSG’s employee benefits here.

Massachusetts’ unemployment rate in September fell to 7.3%, its lowest level in nearly three years, according to the state’s Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.  The report notes that despite a loss of 2,300 jobs in September, key sectors of the economy, including education, healthcare and professional, scientific and business services, added jobs.

Read more here.

The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported today that the August total unemployment rate decreased to 7.4 percent, down from 7.6 percent in July, and remaining well below the national rate of 9.1 percent. The August unemployment rate is the state’s lowest monthly rate since February 2009.

However, after adding jobs to the economy in June and July, Massachusetts saw a decrease in the number of jobs reported in August.  Two-thirds of the jobs decrease for August is attributed to the Verizon workers strike that month.

Over the past year (August 2010 to August 2011),Massachusetts  jobs are up 48,000, for a growth rate of 1.5 percent. Massachusetts Private sector jobs are up 52,900, for a growth rate of 1.9 percent with gains in eight of the ten sectors.

Despite gloomy news and forecasts nationally about the jobs market, the jobs market in Boston is faring much better than the rest of the country.  An August Business Journals’ report of 100 major metropolitan job markets ranked Boston as the #1 metro for jobs and said, “Boston is one of just 13 markets that have more private-sector jobs now than five years ago. Its growth rate in the past 12 months has been an impressive 2.7 percent, and its unemployment rate is a relatively low 7.1 percent.”

Another recently released report ranked Boston as one of the top cities for recent college grads who are looking for work:  an annual list of the top 10 best cities for recent college grads, compiled by CareerRookie.com and Apartments.com and based on the job market and cost of living in cities across the country, ranks Boston as #3.