Attleboro's Unemployment Rate Falls Below 10%

Attleboro's unemployment rate has dropped, a sign that the local economy is moving in the right direction.

The unemployment rate dropped from 10.8 percent in March to 9.3 percent in April, according to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.  

Of the 24,852 people who make up Attleboro's labor force, 2,319 were unemployed in April, down from 2,723 in March. Some of that decrease can be attributed to the number of Attleboro businesses that have hired locally in recent months, including Scorpio's Italian Pizzeria, Miller's Roast Beef and Stergis Windows. 

Stergis has hired 12 Attleboro residents to fill engineering, maintenance, controller and administrative positions, and the company's owner said the plan is to hire an additional 15 this spring. Some of Scorpio's 32 part-time employees were local hires.

The data also shows a decrease in unemployment year over year. In April 2010 there were 2,626 people in Attleboro unemployed, while last month there were 2,319.

"The recent job statistics serve as hopeful news once again that the Commonwealth is continuing its robust recovery," Gov. Deval Patrick said. We have added jobs across nearly all sectors, and our unemployment rate has fallen more than a full point below the national average – signs that our record investments in infrastructure, education and innovation are paying off."

While the economy is improving, state and local officials agree that there is more to be done to help those who are still unemployed. "For them, we continue to fight every day to ensure that everyone seeking a job can find one," Patrick said.