Unemployment rates continue an upwards tick across Central Massachusetts communities, with February unemployment a couple tenths of a percent higher than in January in all three of the region’s metropolitan areas tracked by the state. This follows an increased unemployment rate of almost a full percentage point from December.
In the Greater Worcester metro area, unemployment was at 4.4% in February, as compared to 4.2% in January, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Tuesday by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.
For the Leominster-Gardner area, unemployment was up to 5.2% in February from 4.9% in January.
The Framingham area saw unemployment increase to 3.6% in February, while it was at 3.4% in January.
The upwards trend in rates in the region matches the rest of the state at a slightly faster pace; across Massachusetts, the unemployment rate rose to 4.2% in February from 4.1% in January.Â
These unemployment rates approach those of 2022. February 2022’s statewide unemployment rate was 4.3%, one-tenth of a percentage point higher than it is currently, and was at 4.5% in the Worcester area, 5.2% in the Leominster-Gardner area, and 3.6% in the Framingham area.
