Report: Greater Worcester economy has plateaued

Photo | TMS Aerial Solutions Downtown Worcester

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By Grant Welker

The Greater Worcester economy grew by a 0.3% annualized rate in the third quarter, bringing the region back to positive growth after a contraction in the first half of the year.

The third-quarter rate, reported Friday by Assumption College economics professor Thomas White, shows the relative strength of the area economy based on employment and unemployment data.

“Those employment estimates, as well as the labor force, have not moved much over the past year so the economy has kind of plateaued," White said. "There’s little evidence of a sustained slowdown, but not much growth either.”

White's Worcester Economic Index showed the Greater Worcester economy contracting in the first six months of 2019: a 0.3% annualized drop in the first quarter and a 0.9% annualized rate in the second quarter of the year. With the region growing again in the third quarter, White has forecasted a 1.5% annualized growth rate in the next two quarters.

The Worcester area labor force grew by 2,906, or 0.8%, in the quarter, according to the index.

The Worcester metro area, which includes Worcester County and Connecticut's Windham County, had a September unemployment rate of 3.2%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The rate for all of Massachusetts was 2.9%.

In two positive indicators, White said, new business incorporations in the Worcester area grew 7.8% year-to-year, and statewide initial unemployment claims fell by 4.8% over that time.