Unemployment in Central Massachusetts dropped sharply in March and is down from March of last year, the Patrick administration said today.
Greater Worcester’s seasonally unadjusted jobless rate fell from 7.3 to 7 percent over the month, according to the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. That’s well below the 7.7 percent unemployment rate recorded in March 2013.
MetroWest also experienced a decline, from 5.4 to 5.1 percent, with the rate lower than the 5.5 percent measured 12 months earlier.
Meanwhile, North Central Massachusetts saw joblessness decline from 9 to 8.8 percent, a marked improvement over the 9.7 percent rate recorded in March 2013.
Statewide, unemployment in March 2014 was 6.6 percent, 0.2 percent lower than February. Over the year, joblessness fell 0.5 percent from 7.1 percent.
The number of people employed last month rose by 1,866 (.69 percent) in Greater Worcester, 792 (.56 percent) in the Framingham area and 541 (.83 percent) in the Leominster-Fitchburg-Gardner area. Meanwhile, the number of unemployed in those areas dropped by 660, 304 and 86, respectively.
(Image credit: freedigitalphotos.net)
