Central Mass. unemployment jumps to highest levels in a year
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Unemployment rose across Massachusetts in July.
Unemployment rates in Central Massachusetts’ metro areas in July reached their highest points in a year and had steep year-over-year increases.
The trends were reflective of the statewide trend, as Massachusetts reached its highest point in a year in July when the unemployment rate rose to 4.6%, a 0.6 percentage point increase from June and a 1.1 percentage point increase from July 2023.
The Greater Worcester metro area’s unemployment rate increased from 3.9% in June to 4.5% in July reflecting a 0.6 percentage point increase, according to a Tuesday press release from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
July’s jump in Greater Worcester’s unemployment tied for the area’s largest over-the-month increase in the past year; unemployment also rose by 0.6 percentage points from 3.2% in April to 3.8% in May. July’s rate was nearly 1.0 percentage point greater than in July 2023 when the unemployment rate sat at 3.6%.
Greater Framingham experienced the area’s second largest increase in unemployment this past year with rates rising 0.5 percentage points from 3.6% in June to 4.1% in July. July’s rate reflected a 1.1 percentage point increase from July 2023 when the unemployment rate was 3.0%. The only other month that saw a larger increase this year for the area was in May, when unemployment rose 0.7 percentage points from 2.6% in April to 3.3%.
Unemployment in the Leominster-Gardner region was the highest in Central Massachusetts in July at 5.3%. The area experienced its largest over-the-month increase in the past year in July with the unemployment rate rising 0.9 percentage points from 4.4% in June. The Leominster-Gardner region experienced the largest over-the-year increase in unemployment in Central Massachusetts, reflecting a 1.5-percentage-point increase from July 2023’s rate of 3.8%.
Unemployment in the Athol region rose 0.9 percentage points over the month, having risen from 4.3% in June to 5.2%. Athol’s July rate was 0.9 percentage points higher than in July 2023 when the unemployment rate was the same as in June.
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.
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