Worcester’s economy posts 4.4 percent growth
The greater Worcester economy grew by 4.4 percent in the second quarter of 2015, led by hiring in the health services and leisure and hospitality industries, according to the latest estimates from the Worcester Economic Index (WEI).
The WEI is released each quarter by Assumption College Economics Professor Thomas White. The Worcester economy has added 9,800 jobs since June, 2014, he said.
“The Worcester region has outpaced Massachusetts as a whole over the past year thanks to strong growth in the service sector, continuing a long-run trend to a more service-oriented economy that we have experienced here in Worcester and across the nation in recent decades,” White said. “The only Worcester area industries which experienced a decrease in jobs were the goods producing industries of construction and manufacturing.”
There was an overall decrease in unemployment over the past year from 6.4 percent in June 2014 to 5.3 in June 2015. In the Worcester region, the leisure and hospitality industry grew the fastest over the past year, followed by professional & business services, and retail trade.
The fastest growing industries statewide were professional & business services, construction, and leisure & hospitality. The industry that employs the largest share of workers in both Worcester and Massachusetts is health services which employs 19.2 percent of all workers in the Worcester area and 16.9 percent statewide.
The number of help-wanted ads posted online has continued to rise in recent months, and state-wide initial unemployment claims have been falling, which are both encouraging signs, according to White. However, the number of new business incorporations is down over the past year.
White estimates that over the final six months of 2015, the Worcester Economic Index is expected to grow 3 percent.
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