Southbridge Has Highest Unemployment In Worcester County

The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD) released preliminary February 2015 estimates that show the Massachusetts total unemployment rate dropped to 4.9 percent from the January rate of 5.1 percent, a 0.2 of a percentage point decrease. Over the year, the unemployment rate fell by 1.1 percent from 6.0 percent in February 2014.

Southbridge, however, experienced little of the good news in the report. Compared to its immediate neighbors, Southbridge experienced chronically high unemployment.

The Local Impact Of Long-Term Unemployment Insurance Cuts

Ken O’Brien

On December 28, 1.3 million Americans were immediately cut off of their unemployment insurance coverage. New data from states across the country highlights the harm local communities will face due to the Republican failure to extend unemployment insurance before leaving for the winter holiday break.

When Congress failed to extend the federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation program more than 58,700 people in Massachusetts lost their insurance coverage immediately on Dec. 28, according to the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance. An additional 54,800 people in Massachusetts will lose their coverage in the first six months of 2014 if Republicans continue to block an extension of the program, according to Department of Labor estimates.