Economy

Unemployment rates across Central Massachusetts increased at the start of this year, with January unemployment higher in all three of the region’s metropolitan areas tracked by the state.

Overall Massachusetts gained 19,600 jobs in January and 117,200 jobs year-over-year, according to a Friday press release from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Management.

Hiring remains a challenge at companies still focused on growth and recruitment, in part due to the high cost of living in Massachusetts.

UMass Chan Medical School is consolidating its workforce at MassBiologics, its Boston-based biologics and vaccine manufacturing arm. The affected positions will be eliminated in 60 days.

Central Massachusetts businesses were more confident in February than in any month since August, according to The Central Massachusetts Business Confidence Index.

MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham and Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester have appointed a new shared chief medical officer.

When Worcester child care advocacy nonprofit Edward Street received a $75,000 grant, it was an example of essential funding for early childhood organizations, which rely on foundational funding in the absence of adequate federal funding.

After surviving 2020, Worcester retailers are closing their business or reducing operations in the face of mounting problems in 2023.

Hours after Gov. Maura Healey responded to a question about another minimum wage hike without staking out a yes-or-no position, her press secretary said Healey supports adjusting the wage floor to soften the impact of inflation.

Increasing a tax credit that aids low-income workers and establishing a near-universal child and family tax credit are among the priorities for a coalition that includes community action agencies around Massachusetts, who see the changes as geared toward reducing poverty.