Central Mass. unemployment rates remain higher than 2023
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Unemployment throughout Central Massachusetts in October either rose or held consistent with September’s rates.
Unemployment throughout Central Massachusetts in October either rose or held consistent with September’s rates while all four of the region’s metro areas experienced higher rates than in October 2023.
In congruence with the state’s unadjusted unemployment rate, which climbed 0.1 percentage points to 3.7% in October, the Greater Worcester unemployment also rose 0.1 percentage points to 3.6% last month, 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. Greater Worcester’s unemployment rate was 0.4 percentage points higher than in October 2023 when unemployment sat at 3.2%.
Unemployment in Greater Framingham increased the most of the Central Massachusetts regions in October yet remained the lowest in the region, rising 0.2 percentage points to 3.4%. The area saw the same over-the-year increase as Greater Worcester, with its October unemployment reflecting a rate 0.4 percentage point higher than the 2.7% rate of October 2023. Both Central Massachusetts areas had the lowest over-the-year unemployment increases of the four regions analyzed by the BLS.
The Leominster-Gardner area’s unemployment rate remained unchanged from September’s rate of 4.1%. At the same time, the area’s rate was the highest in Central Massachusetts, and it experienced the highest over-the-year increase in unemployment out of all the four regions analyzed by the BLS, with its October rate reflecting a 0.8-percentage-point increase from October 2023.
Unemployment in the Athol micropolitan area also stayed consistent with its September of 3.9%, a 0.6-percentage-point increase from October 2023 when the area’s unemployment rate was 3.3%.
No Massachusetts labor market areas experienced decreases in unemployment in October with 18 markets seeing increases and six areas staying consistent with September’s rates.
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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