The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics is reporting the best job numbers in Massachusetts since before the 2008 recession. Massachusetts had an unemployment rate of 5.6 percent in May. Economist Ross Gittell with the New England Economic Partnership says employment statistics can look better than they really are because the unemployed stop looking for work, but he says these numbers do reflect about 9,000 new jobs between April and May.

“A lot is related to the high technology hub in Boston-Cambridge and the high educational achievement of not only the Boston area but across the state Massachusetts,” he says.

Connecticut’s unemployment rate for may is 6.9 percent — which is almost a percentage point better than a year ago. The country’s overall jobless rate is 6.3 percent — its lowest in five years.