State statistics reveal that Revere’s overall unemployment rate has dropped to 6.8 percent.
At least this is what the rate was in May. The local unemployment rate has gone down 2 points since January and it is almost 4 points better than it was during the depths of the recession.
So unemployment is dropping in this city.
But the unemployment rate does not tell the whole story.
First off, there are thousands in this city who stopped looking for jobs 4 years ago when they lost their jobs when the economy tanked.
Then came thousands who tried looking for work while collecting unemployment who didn’t know it at the time but were never going to find work again.
So as good as the rate is becoming, there remains much to do to make this economy more wholesome and susceptible to growth.
Although we have weathered the recession here better than some in other states, we remain part of the whole economy that is not creating enough jobs and isn’t creating enough good jobs.
Here’s where the possibility of a casino at Suffolk Downs can make a dramatic change in the unemployment rate locally by creating thousands of new permanent jobs and thousands more temporary construction jobs.
New jobs in those numbers would beat down the unemployment rate. More importantly, millions of dollars in salaries and disposable income would be generated right here in Revere among people living here and working here.
This is why a casino at Suffolk Downs has the potential to be a game changer in Revere and in East Boston.
The unemployment rate is down right now and this is good.
It can go a lot lower with a casino at Suffolk Downs.
