March 19, 2021
Greater Worcester unemployment rate rises for 2nd straight month
Photo | Grant Welker
The former Walker shoe factory on Water Street in Worcester is planned to be turned into a new residential development.
By Grant Welker
Greater Worcester's unemployment rate headed in the wrong direction for the second straight month in January.
The area's January unemployment rate was 7.4%, according to data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, up from 6.9% in December and 6.2% in November. The latest data clarifies an ongoing struggle to recover economically from the coronavirus pandemic, which reached all-time highs in cases in January.
[Related: Mass. businesses reopening, but layoffs remain high]
The unemployment rate across Massachusetts in January improved slightly to 7.8%, a 0.6-percentage-point drop. The unemployment rate in Massachusetts was 1.5 percentage points higher than the national average of 6.3%.
Northern Worcester County, including Leominster, Fitchburg and Gardner, had an 8.7% unemployment rate in January. That area has also seen consecutive months moving in the wrong direction, with a 6.9% rate in November and an 8.0% rate in December.
[Related: A year into COVID, Worcester County small businesses revenue down 51%]
The two regions measured in Worcester County — the Worcester area and Leominster to Gardner — have both often been among the worst nationally for unemployment rates since the pandemic began. The Leominster-Gardner area ranked 343rd out of 389 metro areas nationally in January, and the Worcester area was 283rd.
The Worcester area had 23,208 fewer people working this January than a year prior, a drop of nearly 7%. The Leominster-Gardner area's employment fell over that time by 6,356, or 8%.
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