The Worcester area’s unemployment rate improved slightly in February. But that good news masks a lingering problem: the number of people working dropped for the second straight month.
The region’s unemployment rate improved to 7.3% from 7.4%, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That remains a higher rate than October and November, when the rate was below 7% and the winter peak in coronavirus cases had yet to hit.
In terms of employment, the Worcester area went in the wrong direction despite virus case numbers dropping precipitously. The region lost 3,300 workers, or about 1% of its worker base. The unemployment rate for the month improved slightly because the number of people counted as unemployed and searching for work dropped by 3%, or about 800 people.
The Worcester area’s employment remains down nearly 28,000 workers from March 2020 just before the pandemic hit in full force, a drop of almost 8%.
The picture was a bit brighter in the Leominster, Fitchburg and Gardner area, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics measures separately. In North Worcester County, the February unemployment rate improved to 8.4% from 8.6%, and the number of people employed improved slightly by almost 1%, or about 600 workers.
The Leominster-to-Gardner area’s employment remains down from March 2020 by more than 5,200 workers, or nearly 7%.
Both Central Massachusetts regions’ unemployment rates trail state and national averages. The Massachusetts unemployment rate in February was 7.1%, its best since the pandemic began, while the national average was 6.2%.
The Worcester area ranked 290th in February unemployment rates out of 389 nationally, and the Leominster-to-Gardner area ranked 340th.
