Updated
Updated · wbjournal.com · Jun 12
Middlesex County Employment Fell 2.1% in 2025 as Worcester County Added 0.1%
Updated
Updated · wbjournal.com · Jun 12

Middlesex County Employment Fell 2.1% in 2025 as Worcester County Added 0.1%

1 articles · Updated · wbjournal.com · Jun 12

Summary

  • BLS data released Friday showed Middlesex County posted a 2.1% employment decline in 2025—one of the sharpest among large U.S. counties—while Worcester County was the only large Massachusetts county to grow, up 0.1%.
  • 901,200 jobs remained in Middlesex in December 2025, still the highest total among Massachusetts large counties, versus 358,200 in Worcester.
  • 0.9% was the statewide employment decline, compared with 0.2% national job growth, underscoring how Middlesex underperformed even as Massachusetts broadly lost jobs.
  • $2,293 was Middlesex's average weekly wage, up 5.7% from a year earlier and ranking 10th nationally among large counties; Worcester's wage rose 3.6% to $1,461, ranking 140th.
  • 60,083 establishments operated in Middlesex in December, up from 59,181 in 2024, while Worcester's count rose to 28,829 from 27,946, suggesting business locations increased despite uneven hiring.

Insights

Why are jobs vanishing in one of America's wealthiest states, and can its high-cost economic model survive?
How will the state economy absorb the shock as federal cuts impact benefits for a quarter of its residents?
With its R&D leadership threatened by funding cuts, can Massachusetts innovate its way out of an economic downturn?