Economy and Workforce

Maintaining


Unemployment Rate

What does this measure?

Unemployed individuals are those without jobs who are able, available and actively seeking work. The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed people as a percentage of the total labor force (the total number of employed and unemployed individuals 16 or older and not living in prisons, mental hospitals, or nursing homes).

Why is this important?

Unemployment rates are a relatively timely indicator of current local economic conditions, particularly recent changes in the employment landscape that reflect the overall health of the economy.

How is our region doing?

The unemployment rate in MetroWest was 3.3% in 2022, which represented about 58,300 people seeking employment. Subsequent to a peak in unemployment during the 2008 recession, the unemployment rate had been steadily declining, year-over-year, to 3% in 2019. However, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a surge of unemployment, pushing 2020 rates above 2009 recessionary rates. The state and nation also had a corresponding jump in unemployment, with rates of 9.4% and 8.1%, respectively, in 2020, significantly higher than their respective 2019 rates of 3% and 3.7%.

Notes about the data

The unemployment rate represents only those who are actively seeking employment and does not account for under-employment or discouraged workers who have stopped looking for jobs. Also, county-level estimates are based on relatively small samples, and the true number of unemployed residents may vary considerably from the estimate. The rates reported here are averages of monthly rates.

Unemployment Rate
20002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022
United States4.0%4.7%5.8%6.0%5.5%5.1%4.6%4.6%5.8%9.3%9.6%8.9%8.1%7.4%6.2%5.3%4.9%4.4%3.9%3.7%8.1%5.3%3.6%
Massachusetts2.8%3.8%5.2%5.7%5.1%4.8%4.7%4.5%5.3%8.1%8.1%7.2%6.7%6.6%5.7%4.8%4.0%3.8%3.5%3.0%9.4%5.5%3.8%
Region2.4%3.5%5.0%5.4%4.7%4.3%4.3%4.1%4.8%7.5%7.3%6.4%6.0%5.9%5.1%4.3%3.6%3.4%3.1%2.7%8.3%4.9%3.3%
Middlesex County2.3%3.4%4.9%5.2%4.4%4.0%3.9%3.7%4.3%6.9%6.7%5.9%5.4%5.4%4.7%3.9%3.3%3.1%2.8%2.4%7.7%4.5%3.1%
Norfolk County2.4%3.2%4.6%5.1%4.5%4.1%4.1%3.9%4.7%7.3%7.2%6.3%5.7%5.7%5.0%4.2%3.5%3.4%3.1%2.6%8.8%5.0%3.3%
Worcester County2.9%3.9%5.6%6.1%5.5%5.2%5.1%5.0%5.8%8.9%8.6%7.7%7.2%7.1%6.1%5.1%4.3%4.0%3.7%3.3%9.2%5.7%3.9%

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics




Total Unemployed
20002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022
United States5,692,0006,801,0008,378,0008,774,0008,149,0007,591,0007,001,0007,078,0008,924,00014,265,00014,825,00013,747,00012,506,00011,460,0009,617,0008,296,0007,751,0006,982,0006,314,0006,001,00012,947,0008,623,0005,996,000
Massachusetts94,210128,540179,347195,695173,839162,583160,659155,327183,607280,925280,687251,677235,201233,545204,704172,113145,171142,131132,571116,181350,774207,291140,752
Region38,07054,83379,76385,68573,69268,01766,53164,15776,023118,861117,479103,37196,53896,27384,23870,82660,01359,00154,85647,792144,83185,08058,301
Middlesex County18,55927,82340,91843,06035,76932,69531,69330,20835,87556,76455,50348,65445,52845,51139,88433,77028,68628,22826,04422,48369,47240,59927,912
Norfolk County8,53311,55816,55218,07215,91714,64814,51913,94016,80426,11025,88522,48320,65420,84218,34415,35613,04113,02512,15710,48634,35919,37313,081
Worcester County10,97815,45222,29324,55322,00620,67420,31920,00923,34435,98736,09132,23430,35629,92026,01021,70018,28617,74816,65514,82341,00025,10817,308

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics




INDICATORS REGIONAL TREND


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