April 28, 2021
Greater Worcester unemployment drops to 6.7%, still in bottom half nationally
Photo | Grant Welker
Diners at Rail Trail Flatbread Co. in Hudson.
By Grant Welker
The Worcester area added 12,100 jobs in March, reversing two straight months of declines as the region climbs out of the worst of the coronavirus pandemic.
The area's unemployment rate for March hit 6.7% from 7.3% in new data released Wednesday from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Fitchburg, Leominster and Gardner area, which is measured separately, added 700 jobs and saw its unemployment rate drop from 8.4% to 7.6%.
Both areas of Central Massachusetts have often become among the hardest hit economically during the pandemic and have slowly returned back toward pre-pandemic employment levels. The Massachusetts unemployment rate in March was 6.8%, an improvement over February's rate of 7.0%. The state added 14,400 jobs between February and March, an increase of 0.4%.
The national unemployment rate for March was 6.0%, with Massachusetts and other states with tighter business restrictions in place or those most reliant on tourism tending to still struggle the most with getting people back to work.
The Worcester area ranked 280th out of 389 metro areas nationally in unemployment rates, and the northern Worcester County area ranked 332nd. Both areas had slightly better unemployment rates last fall before cases hit all-time highs over the winter.
In the Worcester area, employment remains down by 18,100, or 5%, from March 2020, just before pandemic restrictions were widely enacted. In the Fitchburg, Leominster and Gardner area, employment in March was down 2,800 jobs compared to a year prior, or nearly 4%.
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