page_title: Greater Lowell
section_title: Economy
hierarchical_section_title: Greater Lowell / Economy
caption_attribution_description: Unemployment rate in Greater Lowell (Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford, MA-NH NECTA division) from January 1990 through November 2011, with same data for Massachusetts for comparison. Reference for Greater Lowell data: http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LAUDV25748003?data_tool=XGtable, for Massachusetts data: http://data.bls.gov/servlet/SurveyOutputServlet?series_id=LASST25000003&amp;data_tool=XGtable.
context_page_description: Greater Lowell is the name given to the city of Lowell, Massachusetts and its suburbs which are found in Northern Middlesex County, Massachusetts, the Merrimack Valley, and Southern New Hampshire.
context_section_description: The economy of Greater Lowell is closely tied to that of Greater Boston. Outside of the services, health, and retail sectors, major employers are in high technology and defense, with a still-shrinking manufacturing sector.
  Suburban sprawl and serious economic hardships have reduced the role Lowell plays in its suburbs over the decades.  The entire region is often considered a component of the much larger Greater Boston area, as Lowell is only 25 miles from downtown Boston.  Suburban office parks, shopping malls, and the severe decline of heavy industry in New England have pulled the economic focus away from the once great industrial and commercial base in Lowell itself.  Additionally, the population of Lowell is at 1900 levels despite large growth among the suburban population.
caption: Unemployment rate of Greater Lowell (blue) compared to that of Massachusetts (red) from 1990 through 2011.  Note that the data for Massachusetts is seasonally adjusted, while that for Greater Lowell is not; that is why the former line is smoother than the latter.
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