Greater Worcester unemployment rate increases for 2nd time in pandemic
Photo | Grant Welker
Customers and workers inside B.T.'s Fried Chicken and BBQ in Worcester.
The unemployment rate in the Worcester metropolitan area took a slight upward turn for the second time since the coronavirus pandemic began, according to a new report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Increasing from 6% in April to 6.1% in May, the rate is still less than half of what it was this time last year.
In total, there are 25,033 unemployed members of the labor force in the area, which is defined by BLS as Worcester County and Windham County, Conn. This is a stark decrease from the 52,399 unemployed last May when the pandemic was continuing to wreak havoc across the nation.
The 0.1 percentage point increase was the second time the Worcester metro unemployment increased since April 2020. The first time was January, when it increased from 7.3% to 7.4%.
While these figures mark a decrease from pandemic numbers, the region still has not fully bounced back to its 3.4% pre-pandemic rate in March 2020.
The region is now marking 0.3 percentage points higher than the national average at 5.8%, but remains on par with the state-level rates, which was also 6.1% in May.
Nationally, 343,000 leisure and hospitality positions were added in June, representing American’s general move back into restaurants and bars.
At least 55% of Worcester County residents are currently vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with positive cases, hospitalizations, and deaths all steadily decreasing. Increasing vaccination rates have largely coincided with the lifting of government restrictions on businesses and employment related to the pandemic.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments