Worcester County’s economy grew for the second straight year in 2018 but again trailed the Massachusetts average, according to new U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Worcester County surpassed $40 billion in gross domestic product, a measure of the size of the economy. That landed the county fifth among the state’s 14 counties. The county’s annual GDP has risen in the past years from 1.3% in 2016 to 2.1% and 2.4% in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
But for the third straight year, Worcester County trailed both state and national averages for economic growth.
Worcester County’s economy grew by 2.4% in 2018, compared to 3.1% in Massachusetts and 2.9% nationally.
Boston and surrounding communities continue to carry much of the state’s growth.
Boston’s Suffolk County grew by 3.6%, and the growth rate was 4.3% in Middlesex County, which includes Cambridge, Somerville, Waltham and other prosperous Boston-area communities, along with much of MetroWest like Framingham and Marlborough.
Growth was much slower further from Boston.
In the western part of Massachusetts, Berkshire, Hampden and Hampshire counties each grew by 1.5% or less. Bristol County, which includes Fall River and New Bedford, had the smallest growth in Massachusetts at 1.1%.
