Worcester, Massachusetts Unemployment

The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Worcester fell 0.2 percentage points in February 2019 to 3.2%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.2 percentage points higher than the Massachusetts rate. The unemployment rate in Worcester peaked in November 2009 at 9.4% and is now 6.2 percentage points lower. You can also compare Worcester unemployment with unemployment in other cities.

Unemployment Rate	February 2019	Month/Month	Year/Year
National	3.8%	-0.2	-0.3
Massachusetts	3.0%	-0.1	-0.6
Worcester	3.2%	-0.2	-0.6

Note: Metro level data is now seasonally adjusted.¹ All comparisons are made with February 2019 data as March metro level unemployment data has not yet been released.

Unemployment Rate: Worcester, Massachusetts, National

Note: Recessions shown in gray.

Worcester, Massachusetts Unemployed

The number of people unemployed in Worcester peaked in January 2010 at 31,352. There are now 19,699 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area.

Unemployed Persons	February 2019	Month/Month	Year/Year
Worcester	11,653	-730	-1,896

Number of Unemployed Persons

Worcester, Massachusetts Unemployment History

Date	National Unemployment Rate	Massachusetts Unemployment Rate	Worcester Unemployment Rate	Worcester Unemployed
March 2019	3.8%	3.0%	—	—
February 2019	3.8%	3.0%	3.2%	11,653
January 2019	4.0%	3.1%	3.4%	12,383
December 2018	3.9%	3.1%	3.3%	12,131
November 2018	3.7%	3.1%	3.3%	12,172
October 2018	3.8%	3.1%	3.6%	13,171
September 2018	3.7%	3.2%	3.6%	13,209
August 2018	3.8%	3.3%	3.9%	14,156
July 2018	3.9%	3.3%	3.9%	14,311
June 2018	4.0%	3.4%	3.8%	14,032
May 2018	3.8%	3.5%	3.8%	13,685
April 2018	3.9%	3.5%	3.8%	13,853