Worcester leads Massachusetts in jobs, but one layoff tests the trend.
+1.9%
Worcester YoY job growth
Highest among MA metros; Amherst-Northampton +1.7%, Springfield +1.1%
4.5%
Worcester County unemployment
vs 4.3% statewide, 4.1% national (August 2026)
639 workers
Largest MA WARN filing in 2026
Community Healthlink, Worcester/Leominster, filed 8/10/2026
$1,506
Worcester avg weekly wage
vs $1,654 U.S. average (Q1 2026)
This Month's Takeaways
01
Worcester outpaces every other Massachusetts metro on job growth.
The 1.9 percent year-over-year gain leads Amherst-Northampton (1.7 percent) and Springfield (1.1 percent), even as all seven major state MSAs shed jobs month-over-month in August. That divergence between annual and monthly readings suggests underlying strength that short-term volatility may be obscuring.
02
A single large layoff complicates the growth narrative.
Community Healthlink's 639-worker WARN notice, filed in August, was the largest in Massachusetts this year and lands directly in the Worcester/Leominster area. Healthcare accounted for the most WARN notices statewide (20), making this less an isolated event than a visible instance of broader sector churn.
03
Local wages are running below both state and national averages.
Worcester's first-quarter average weekly wage of $1,506 trails the U.S. average of $1,654 by roughly 9 percent, a gap that may reflect the metro's industry mix relative to higher-wage Boston-area professional services. For commerce leaders, this cost differential is a structural feature of the local business climate, not a recent shift.
04
Public-sector and healthcare stability diverge from the statewide pattern.
Massachusetts job growth has concentrated almost entirely in health care and education even as trade, information, financial activities, and leisure collectively lost nearly 17,000 positions this year. Worcester's above-average job growth appears consistent with this statewide sector tilt, suggesting its economic base is better aligned with where growth is actually occurring.
Local Economic Conditions
Worcester remains the standout performer among Massachusetts metros, posting the largest year-over-year job gain in the state at 1.9 percent even as all seven major Massachusetts MSAs lost jobs between July and August, a divergence that suggests localized resilience against a statewide cooling trend. That momentum sits alongside a 4.5 percent county unemployment rate, above both the state's 4.3 percent and the national 4.1 percent, and a notable August WARN filing from Community Healthlink affecting 639 healthcare workers in the Worcester/Leominster area.
Open Threads in the Data
Worcester's outperformance on year-over-year job growth, even amid a statewide contraction, signals the metro's economic base — anchored in health care, education, and professional services — is proving more durable than Boston's tech-heavy economy, which saw Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services employment fall 5.8 percent statewide. Commerce leaders evaluating expansion or investment timing should weigh this county-level resilience against the countervailing signal of the Community Healthlink layoff, which indicates sector-specific softness even within an otherwise growing local economy; current conditions suggest monitoring whether displaced healthcare workers are absorbed locally before reading August's job growth figure as an unambiguous trend.
Advertised Pay Indicators · WageScape Benchmark 25 Jobs
Job postings data for the Worcester, MA MSA metro — median advertised pay, its recent trend, and the number of active postings behind each figure. Jobs are grouped for readability and are not the same as the 10 sector classifications on the next page. For additional job detail contact WageScape.
Retail Trade
| Retail Sales Associate |
$35,100 |
→ Stable |
3,735 |
| Retail Cashier |
$35,100 |
→ Stable |
1,457 |
Transportation & Warehousing
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate |
$40,095 |
↓ Moderate decline |
1,462 |
| CDL Truck Driver |
$78,000 |
↑ Moderate increase |
4,090 |
| Delivery Driver |
$36,160 |
↓ Moderate decline |
3,540 |
| Warehouse Manager |
$108,597 |
→ Stable |
10 |
Construction
| Construction Laborer |
$42,000 |
↑ Moderate increase |
250 |
Construction/Skilled Trades
| Electrician |
$76,694 |
↓ Moderate decline |
1,175 |
| HVAC Technician |
$78,094 |
↑ Significant increase |
212 |
Manufacturing
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler |
$41,600 |
→ Stable |
1,543 |
Cross-Sector
| Customer Service Representative |
$39,635 |
→ Stable |
2,325 |
| Operations Manager |
$94,078 |
↑ Moderate increase |
52 |
Leisure & Hospitality
| Food Service Worker |
$35,360 |
↓ Moderate decline |
168 |
Healthcare
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide |
$45,323 |
→ Stable |
3,913 |
| Registered Nurse |
$114,088 |
↑ Moderate increase |
9,834 |
Admin/Office Support
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk |
$44,511 |
↑ Moderate increase |
1,869 |
Information/Technology
| Software Engineer |
$153,652 |
→ Stable |
7,936 |
| Data Engineer |
$145,605 |
↑ Moderate increase |
3,008 |
Professional & Business Services
| Accountant |
$71,933 |
↑ Significant increase |
3,878 |
| HR Generalist/Manager |
$80,532 |
↑ Significant increase |
545 |
| Marketing Specialist |
$58,870 |
→ Stable |
736 |
| Business Analyst |
$99,106 |
↑ Significant increase |
2,166 |
Finance & Insurance
| Financial Analyst |
$98,476 |
→ Stable |
922 |
Government/Education
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher |
$63,861 |
↑ Moderate increase |
11,220 |
Cross-Sector Sales
| Account Manager |
$92,309 |
↑ Significant increase |
5,239 |
Industry Snapshot · Worcester, MA MSA
Advertised pay and job-posting trends across the whole metro economy, rolled up by employer industry — not just the bellwether roles above.
| Sector |
Median Pay Change |
Job Postings Change |
| Construction |
↑ +21.2% |
↑ +229.2% |
| Manufacturing |
↑ +18.6% |
↑ +430.3% |
| Retail Trade |
↑ +14.6% |
↑ +155.5% |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities |
↓ −4.5% |
↑ +173.5% |
| Information |
↑ +25.0% |
↑ +294.9% |
| Financial Activities |
↑ +45.1% |
↑ +478.7% |
| Professional & Business Services |
↑ +7.1% |
↑ +312.6% |
| Education & Health Services |
→ +1.9% |
↑ +129.7% |
| Leisure & Hospitality |
→ +1.5% |
↑ +87.6% |
| Government |
↑ +45.3% |
↑ +324.8% |
Looking Ahead · Next 30–60 Days
Expected release
September unemployment data for both Massachusetts and the Worcester metro publish October 16 and October 20 respectively, which will show whether August's county-level softening (4.5 percent) persisted or reversed.
Emerging pressure point
Healthcare carried the most WARN notices of any Massachusetts industry this year, and Worcester just absorbed the state's largest single filing. Watch whether additional healthcare-sector notices emerge locally in the next reporting cycle, which would suggest a pattern rather than an isolated event.
Worth watching
National wage growth has slipped to 3.0 percent against 3.4 percent inflation, the first sustained real-wage decline in two years. If that gap persists into Worcester-area pay data, it could begin to show up in local consumer spending indicators tracked by commerce groups.
Potential inflection point
Massachusetts' Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services sector has contracted 5.8 percent statewide. Whether Worcester's more diversified base continues to outperform Boston's tech-heavy economy over the next two reporting cycles will test if this month's divergence is durable or temporary.
Sources & Methodology
Pay and hiring data provided by WageScape. See every source cited in this report, with links →
Advertised pay reflects the pay ranges employers publish in active job postings in this metro, not survey or payroll data. Pay trends compare the current period with the prior period for the same metro and role. Sector figures group postings by the employer's industry classification; sectors with limited classified postings are marked as such rather than estimated. This briefing is independent of, and complements, official statistics from the BLS and state labor market information offices.
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