Worcester area unemployment rate increases slightly, region still on track for 2023 job growth

The total number of unemployed workers in the Greater Worcester metropolitan area rose by 566 in November, as the region’s total number of workers is still on track to see a slight increase in 2023.

The Worcester area’s unemployment rate rose from 2.8% in October to 2.9% in November, according to statistics released by the state’s Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development on Tuesday. The Worcester area’s rate is close to the statewide unemployment rate of 2.8%. 

The Worcester region has gained 2,600 employed workers over-the-year, a 0.9% increase. 

November’s figures also mark a slight improvement from this time last year; the unemployment rate in the region during November 2022 was 3.3%.

Other areas in Central Massachusetts saw increases in local unemployment rates, too.

The Athol micropolitan area saw unemployment rise from 2.9% in October to 3.2% in November, a number still below the Athol region’s November 2022 figure of 3.9%.

The Framingham division saw November’s unemployment rate hit 2.4%, a 0.1% increase from October’s rate. The Framingham area’s unemployment rate was 2.6% in November 2022. 

The Leominster-Gardner metropolitan saw November’s rate hit 3%. This number is a 0.2% increase from October, but still lower than the November 2022 rate of 3.7%.

Of the state’s seven New England city and town areas included in the report, the Boston-Cambridge-Nashua metropolitan region saw the largest gain of jobs in November, with an increase of 5,100. The Barnstable metropolitan area had the largest decrease, with 2,900 jobs lost. 

New England city and town areas are a geographic and statistical entity defined by the U.S. federal government. 

These numbers are not adjusted for seasonal fluctuations in job levels and may show different levels and trends than the statewide seasonally adjusted estimates, according to the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.