Marlborough, MASS. May 24, 2019 – Marlborough’s unemployment rate hit a 19-year-low for the month of April, as the Marlborough Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) held a city-wide job fair to promote local STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) jobs and place city residents and recent graduates in open positions at area employers. According to the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD), unemployment sat at 2.3% in April, the lowest for this month since the year 2000.

More than 30 graduating students from Worcester Polytechnic University, Framingham State University, UMass Lowell, Clark University, Northeastern University, University of New Hampshire, University of Rhode Island and other New England area colleges, as well as alumni from the city’s Advanced Math and Science Academy and Marlborough High School were among close to 130 jobseekers who attended the Marlborough Works Job Fair, held at the Courtyard by Marriott yesterday as part of Mayor Arthur Vigeant’s ongoing efforts to increase local employment. About 20 attendees also took advantage of free interview workshops run by MassHire Framingham Career Center during the event.

The job fair hosted 20 local companies, including Boston Scientific and Quest Diagnostics, both of which made this year’s Forbes list of the country’s top 500 employers. Hiring representatives from GE Healthcare Life Sciences, IPG Photonics, Doble Engineering, Nasuni Cloud Storage and other Marlborough-based companies were also in attendance, looking to fill about 300 open positions.  

For the second time in the job fair’s eight-year run, recent college and high school graduates got priority access to the event, benefitting from an extra half an hour of face-to-face time with employers. MEDC executive director, Meredith Harris said that connecting local STEM companies with the new generation of innovators is one of MEDC’s main priorities.

“One of the main reasons Marlborough is home to more than 40 life sciences and 30 high-tech companies is the access to talent,” said MEDC executive director, Meredith Harris. “There are more than a dozen colleges and universities within a short 20-minute drive from here, and this makes for a rich pool of highly-educated applicants, who are versed in the latest technologies and innovations. Our job is to bring this budding talent and our local employers together in one room. ”

More than 120 companies have moved to or expanded in Marlborough over the past 8 years, adding more than 7,000 jobs to the local labor market. The city’s unemployment rate has fallen by 48% over the same time period, the labor force has grown by about 6% and the number of people employed has risen by more than 8% since 2012.  

“A lot has changed in the Marlborough job market since we launched this local employment initiative,” said Mayor Arthur Vigeant. “Eight years ago, the unemployment rate was more than twice as high as it is today, many of our major STEM employers were not even in Marlborough yet and the kind of jobs that were available were quite different from the ones that are on offer here today. Our local economy has evolved greatly, but our commitment to connect local employers with the regional talent pool and local residents remains as strong as ever.”

About MEDC:

The Marlborough Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) is the state chartered economic development corporation for the City of Marlborough, MA and represents a public-private partnership for planning. MEDC works with municipal and private investors to foster economic development, job growth and community revitalization. 
For a complete overview of MEDC, visit MarlboroughEDC.com.