Unemployment in MetroWest is on the Decline, Mood, Expectations Mixed

For those in search of a job during these tough economic times things may be looking up, especially if you live in Massachusetts.

The U.S. Department of Labor released its latest job statistics Friday morning saying that the National market has virtually stayed the same at 9.1 percent between April and May of this year, but locally it appears to be a different picture. 

While the data is not as fresh in Massachusetts, the unemployment rates in the Boston MetroWest region fell more than a half-percent between March and the end of April, according to a report issued by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development on May 24. 

The Framingham division reported 5.5 percent unemployment in April as apposed to 6 percent in March.

The Worcester metropolitan area experienced similar growth after unemployment rates fell from 8.6 percent to 7.9 percent in the same time period. 

In Marlborough, there is a positive mood supporting the recent numbers.

"We have heard from some employers that they are adding some jobs," said George Ciccone, executive director of the Marlborough Economic Development Corporation. "Some are hiring, nothing huge like a third shift or anything, but some companies have started replacing the people they have laid off (during the downturn), even though they may not yet be at levels from two or three years ago. We've heard from commercial realtors that there are new tenants moving into Marlborough, from 500 square foot sales offices, to 10,000 square foot spaces for small high tech firms. We haven't heard about expansion in retail so far other than new which opened earlier this year. So, I think there has been a slow, gradual pickup; it seems like we've turned a corner and jobs are being created."

The state had Marlborough listed as having a workforce of 22,596 in April, 2011. As of this report, Marlborough's unemployment rate is listed at 5.4 percent as apposed to 6.9 percent a year ago.

"We are seeing a big shift and it is real," said Toni Wolf, executive director of Employment Options. "Entry level jobs are certainly opening up, and career ladder jobs are starting to as well. What is not opening up are the jobs available to young adults. Any kind of internships for the summer, or summer work, is not changing." 

This phenomenon, added Wolf, is due to the fact that the market is so flooded with potential workers right now, that young adults just out of high school are being overlooked in favor of more experienced workers. 

The Marlborough Chamber of Commerce presented a similar viewpoint, with a caveat.

"Some of the bigger companies do have some jobs available," said Catherine Gregory Mogavero, executive vice president of the Chamber. "Some jobs people are getting right now might be temporary though. I think companies are more interested with testing out the waters with possible employees rather than hiring full time. If they hire as temps, they see if the person works out and if they are really filling the job. There are so many people that are there looking for jobs and out of work, when they have an opening, they are looking for a person to fill every item in that job description."

Mogavero commented that during a recent meeting with a local school principal, she was shown 500 resumes for three available openings.

"They want to hire, but are trying to recoup their recent losses before they make any real commitment," she added.

Nearby Framingham, whose workforce tops 37,000, boasts similar numbers with a current unemployment rate of 5.3 percent compared to 6.3  percent a year ago.

These numbers represent significant gains over the National average.

"The unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 9.1 percent," the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday morning in a release. "Job gains continued in professional and business services, health care, and mining. Employment levels in other major private-sector industries were little changed, and local government employment continued to decline."

The State's most recent data also reveals that only one Market in Massachusetts (Amherst) saw an increase in unemployment during the same time period.

On May 19, 2011, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development said that Massachusetts had added 19,500 in the month of April, dropping the statewide total to 7.8 percent.

"Employers are talking about some things coming down the pike," said Wolf. "Human services, that are very much State funded, are seeing entry level positions becoming available. We were recently able to place a dozen people in jobs like these across the state.

"People are cautious, but it is a hopeful situation. … it is an employer's market right now," she concluded.

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