North County

Downtown Fitchburg has struggled to attract new growth when so many people are following jobs to more prosperous areas or finding affordable areas elsewhere.

Students, faculty and staff wanting to participate in upcoming semesters must now be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 at Worcester schools the College of the Holy Cross, Clark University, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

The unemployment rate in Massachusetts ticked down 0.2 percentage points to 6.5% in April, continuing the steady decline from the high rates since the state of the coronavirus pandemic.

Fitchburg contract manufacturer Micron Solutions has sold its main manufacturing facility, with a leaseback, for $3.8 million amid a first quarter that saw increases in revenue and profits in comparison to the first quarter of 2020.

Gardner optical equipment manufacturer Precision Optics reported a profit for the third quarter as a result of forgiveness of its federal Paycheck Protection Program loan.

The unemployment rate in the city of Worcester dropped a full percentage point from February to March, hitting its lowest level since the coronavirus pandemic began.

UMass Memorial Health of Worcester announced on Tuesday it helped create a new TeamBirth partnership with Wellesley insurer Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Boston health center Ariadne Labs to launch a new initiative at the UMass hospitals in Leominster and Worcester, aimed at improving maternal health and birth outcomes.

The results of a new spring survey of North Central Massachusetts businesses shows improvements for local businesses still dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, as well as lingering impacts.

In Worcester Business Journal's annual list of the most influential people in the Central Massachusetts economy, the Power 50, one-third of those listed have ties to the manufacturing industry.

Looking back over the past year, Erica Grinkis, owner of Leominster eateries The Gazbar and Central Cup, reflects on how operations changed but management remained the same when the coronavirus pandemic struck.