September 3, 2020
Mass. unemployment claims continue to climb, hitting one-month high
Photo | Grant Welker
The Wexford House restaurant on Route 9 in Worcester has closed permanently.
By Riley Garand
Unemployment claims filed since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic have increased to 1,245,097 in Massachusetts, according to the U.S Department of Labor data released Thursday morning.
There were 18,054 new claims made throughout the week ending Aug. 29, the highest weekly total in a month and 460 more than the week prior. The Labor Department on Thursday adjusted the number of claims made the week ending Aug. 22 from 17,157 to 17,594.
Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce development data for the week ending of Aug. 29 was not available Thursday morning but in the previous week, the number of new claims rose in a few major sectors: health and social assistance claims increased from 1,862 to 1,977, retail increased from 1,546 to 1,565, and construction increased from 995 to 1,071. Elsewhere, professional and technical service claims increased from 1,206 to 1,349, education increased from 682 to 784, manufacturing increased from 1,028 to 1,077, and administrative and waste services increased from 1,097 to 1,022.
Food and accommodation claims decreased that week from 1,389 on Aug. 15 to 1,367.
Nationally, unemployment claims showed a slight decline with 881,000 claims filed last week. The new claims show a 130,000 claim decrease then the revised numbers during the week ending Aug. 22. New claims bring the total since the beginning of the pandemic to more than 60.2 million.
The latest weekly unemployment claims data comes a day after the Worcester and Northern Worcester County regional unemployment numbers were released, showing both among the nation's worst.
The Worcester area's unemployment rate was 14.9% in July, an improvement from 15.8% in June. But the region's national ranking was actually slightly worse: 368th out of 389. The area comprising Leominster, Fitchburg and Gardner improved from 18.7% to 17.8% in its unemployment rate, but is now the overall sixth worst, compared to seventh a month prior.
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