Fed: Challenges Ahead For Central Mass. Economy
Boston Fed
Unemployment in Central Massachusetts peaked at 9.2 percent and has since fallen somewhat.
Central Massachusetts was one of the hardest hit regions in the 2008 recession, and though employment and other metrics have not fully recovered, there are positive signs that give the region an edge, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of Boston report released today.
The region's unemployment rate, which reached a high of 9.2 percent in the recession, has come down somewhat. The region lost 4.5 percent of its jobs from the end of 2007 to the end of 2009, and gained back 2.6 percent over the following two years. Unemployment in the Worcester area sits at 7.1 percent, state economic officials announced this week. That's down from 7.8 percent a year ago, but still higher than the state average of 6.5 percent. Nationally, unemployment recently dipped below 8 percent for the first time in more than 40 months.
Every sector of the regional economy, with the exception of health care and education, lost jobs from 2007 to 2009. The biggest gains since have come in management of companies, transportation and warehousing, utilities and construction.
The Central Massachusetts workforce is less educated on average than Massachusetts as a whole, but the region has made steady gains since 2000. Workers with associate's degrees or higher made up 38.5 percent of the workforce between 2000 and 2008. That number climbed to 44 percent from 2008 to 2010. The region also has a higher rate of bachelor's degree completions in STEM-related fields. And community colleges played a larger role in the granting of certificates and associate's degrees in the region.
The Boston Fed's New England Public Policy Center releases a labor market snapshot of each region of the state throughout the year. The profiles can be read here.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments