Report: State adds jobs in March, unemployment steady at 3%

BOSTON — State officials say Massachusetts added more than 4,000 jobs in March while the overall unemployment rate held steady at 3%.

The state office of Labor and Workforce Development reported job gains last month in several key sectors of the economy, including education and health services, and professional, scientific and business services.

Modest increases were also reported in manufacturing and construction, but those sectors have seen a slight overall loss in jobs over the past year.

The state’s unemployment rate remained lower than the 3.8% jobless rate for the U.S. as a whole in March.

Preliminary estimates from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics show Massachusetts added a total of 4,100 jobs last month, and that an estimated 28,200 jobs have been added since March 2018.

Police release name of woman struck, killed by MBTA bus

CHELSEA — Police have released the name of the woman struck and killed by a public transit bus just outsider Boston this week.

Transit police identified the woman struck in Chelsea at about 5:30 a.m. Thursday as 60-year-old Mary Pettiglio, of East Boston.

Superintendent Richard Sullivan says the woman was struck by a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority near the Everett Avenue on-ramp to the Tobin Bridge.

The bus driver was not hurt but was taken to the hospital for an evaluation.

Sullivan says he has driven for the MBTA for 12 years. He underwent drug and alcohol testing and won’t be allowed to drive a T bus pending the completion of the investigation.

The MBTA in a statement said it was “deeply saddened by this tragic event.”

Suspect in homicide found dead in prison hospital

BOSTON — A suspect in a homicide has been found dead in his prison hospital room of an apparent suicide.

The Telegram & Gazette reports that Dean Valchuis, of Berlin, was in state custody awaiting trial in connection with the death of 58-year-old Roger Bemis, of Clinton, in February.

The Department of Correction says Valchuis was pronounced dead early Thursday at the Lemuel Shattuck Hospital Correctional Unit in Boston.

He was found unresponsive in his bed with a ligature around his neck.

Valchius was being treated for injuries he sustained after falling from a tree stand.

Police found Valchuis in his backyard with serious injuries after they went to his home to arrest him.

The Suffolk district attorney’s office is investigating Valchuis’ death.

From Associated Press