In addition, people who have given up job searches, meaning that they are no longer counted as unemployed, or who work part time because they cannot find full-time jobs, number about 150,000 — double the number before the recession, said Alan Clayton-Matthews, an economics professor at Northeastern University.

But the benefits of the state’s improving economy are starting to spread, Clayton-Matthews said.

As high-paying industries such as technology, life sciences, and financial services add workers, income in the state is rising, fueling consumer spending and the demand for goods and services, Clayton-Matthews said. That, in turn, is creating retail and service jobs for lower-skilled workers.

Major retailers are raising wages here and across the country to attract and retain workers. In Massachusetts, for example, Walmart is paying an average wage of about $14 an hour, about $5 above the state’s minimum wage.