Central Mass. unemployment rose in December, remained higher than in 2023
Photo I Courtesy of Courtesy Phillips Precision
Unemployment rates rose throughout Central Massachusetts in December.
Central Massachusetts ended 2024 with increased unemployment in December and rates higher than the same time in 2023.
Central Massachusetts’ rise in unemployment mirrored the state's overall increase in December as the commonwealth experienced a 4.2% seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate, the third highest of 2024.
Unemployment in Greater Worcester rose 0.2 percentage points from 3.8% in November to 4.0% in December, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The region’s December rate was 0.6 percentage points higher than in December 2023 when unemployment sat at 3.4%.
With a rate of 3.7% in December, Greater Framingham had the lowest unemployment of the four Central Massachusetts regions analyzed by BLS. Like Greater Worcester, the area saw a 0.2 percentage point increase from November when unemployment was 3.5%. The Framingham area saw the second highest over-the-year increase, rising 0.9 percentage points from December 2023 when unemployment sat at 2.8%.
Unemployment was once again the highest in the Leominster-Gardner area, which experienced an unemployment rate of 4.8% in December. The area’s December rate was 0.5 percentage points higher than in November. The area had the highest over-the-year unemployment increase of all four regions, experiencing a 1.1-percentage point increase from December 2023.
Breaking a two-month streak of unchanged unemployment rates, unemployment in the Athol micropolitan area increased by 0.5 percentage points to 4.4% in December, representing the highest over-the-month increase of the four regions analyzed by the BLS. The area tied with Greater Worcester for the lowest over-the-year unemployment increase, rising 0.6 percentage points from 3.8% in December 2023.
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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