Southbridge March Unemployment Rate 9.5%

Ken O’Brien

Southbridge’s unemployment problem remains among the worst in Massachusetts. While unemployment in Central Massachusetts dropped sharply in March and is down from March of last year this community remains 2.5 percentage points above the regional average and almost 3 points above the statewide average.

Greater Worcester's seasonally unadjusted jobless rate fell from 7.3 to 7 percent over the month, according to the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. That's well below the 7.7 percent unemployment rate recorded in March 2013.

In the meantime, Southbridge managed a drop from a 9.9% unemployment rate to 9.5%.

Nevertheless Southbridge was significantly above the unemployment rate of surrounding communities:

                        Brookfield 7.1%

                        Charlton 7.1%

                        Dudley 8.4%

                        East Brookfield 8.1%

                        Oxford 7.0%

                        Spencer 8.1%

                        Sturbridge 6.3%

                        Webster 8.8%

MetroWest also experienced a decline, from 5.4 to 5.1 percent, with the rate lower than the 5.5 percent measured 12 months earlier.

Meanwhile, North Central Massachusetts saw joblessness decline from 9 to 8.8 percent, a marked improvement over the 9.7 percent rate recorded in March 2013.

Statewide, unemployment in March 2014 was 6.6 percent, 0.2 percent lower than February. Over the year, joblessness fell 0.5 percent from 7.1 percent.