The Bay State’s unemployment rate increased to 5.5 percent last month, from 5.3 percent in September, as the region shed 7,000 jobs.

Real estate employment was off by 900 last month while financial services lost 200 jobs, according to a report today from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. At 221,500, the financial activities sector is down 2,800 jobs from one year ago.