Report: Worcester's economy trending up
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Driven by solid gains in the labor market, the Worcester area economy continued to grow at a strong pace during the second quarter of 2014, according to the latest Worcester Economic Index (WEI).
The index, released Thursday by its creator, Assumption College economics professor Thomas White, increased at an annual rate of 7.9 percent during the second quarter, building on a revised 5.2-percent growth estimate for the first quarter of the year, the report said.
“The local labor market continues to improve,” White said in a statement. “The local unemployment rate is now around 6 percent, which is the lowest it has been since late 2008.”
White cited a “substantial pickup” in hiring by local employers. According to the payroll survey, firms added about 3,800 workers during the second quarter, more than three times the 1,100 additions during the first quarter.
Additionally, the report cited other upward-trending barometers, such as help-wanted ads posted online, the number of new residential building permits and the number of business incorporations.
According to the report, the index is expected to grow at a relatively strong annual rate of about 4.5 percent over the second half of the year.
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