Central Massachusetts’ two major metropolitan areas – Worcester and Fitchburg-Leominster-Gardner – followed national trends with drops in their unemployment rates, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Worcester’s unemployment rate in December of 6.8 percent compared to an 8.6 percent rate in December 2010.
In the North Central Massachusetts urban areas, the unemployment rate increased slightly from November to December – 8.5 percent to 8.7 percent – but that is well below the December 2010 rate of 10.6 percent.
Nationwide, the unemployment rates dropped in 329 of 372 metropolitan areas, government data found.
