NEW BEDFORD, Mass.--The people of New Bedford like to say their town used to be the richest in the world.

In the early 19th century a profitable whaling industry filled the city with wealthy Yankee ship captains. But when the discovery of new oil sources rendered whaling obsolete, New Bed-ford turned to textile manufacturing to preserve its prosperity.

Today, all that is gone.

Last week, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its annual Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS). Of the Bay State's 13 metropolitan areas with a year-round population, New Bedford claimed the highest unemployment rate--11.3 percent.

The next highest was Fall River-New Bedford's neighbor to the west--with 7.3 percent.

The average rate of unemployment in Massachusetts is 3.6 percent, well below the national average of 4.6.

The Boston area, which includes Cambridge and surrounding suburbs, was the state's lowest, with 3.3 percent of the labor force unemployed.

Cambridge itself boasted a meager 2.1 percent.

With a history of high unemployment rates and a median household income of $22,647, New Bedford's city leaders were not shocked by this year's numbers.

"It wasn't a surprise," says George Rogers, who has been a New Bedford city councilor for 20 years and is a former mayor of the Whaling City.

"Typically New Bedford unemployment has ranked highly and that's something we've always worked on--the revitalization of the economy," he says.

The City Today

A walk through New Bedford's dingy downtown reveals extent of its decay.

Boarded-up store fronts, closed banks,five-and-dime shops and weather-beaten barsdominate the urban landscape.

City officials are trying to revitalize NewBedford by calling attention to landmarks withhistoric plaques and planting greenery in publicplazas.

But few New Bedford residents--and even fewertourists--seem to pay any attention to the historylessons from the glory days of whaling andtextiles.

Maria A. Teixeira, a 27-year-old librarian whogrew up in New Bedford, says she has watched thecity's progressive decline.

"When I was a kid, times were tough, but not asbad as they are now," she says. "All theseboarded-up buildings were stores back then."

Teixeira--like many of the area's youth--movedto Boston to find employment after graduating fromcollege.

"There aren't many jobs left around here, so alot of people commute by bus," she says.

But with New Bedford more than an hour south ofBoston, commuting isn't always an option.

On the city's once bustling water-front,fishermen are still struggling to make a living.William D. Whipple, a resident of neighboringWestport describes the dismal state of his trade.

"There has been fairly severe over-fishing,"Whipple says. "As a consequence, the business hasgotten highly regulated, and the industry haspractically died."

According to Whipple, New Bedford saw its peakfishing years in the 1970s. Since that time,Whipple says, "things have declinedsignificantly."

New Bedford youths have a different impressionof the state of their city.

Nineteen-year-old Jenny Medeiros doubts theWhaling City has changed dramatically either forbetter or for worse.

"[New Bedford] is all I know," Medeiros says.

She says young people spend their free time"cruising the Ave." and "going clubbing."

Asked to explain, she says she is referring tothe kids who drive up and down Acushnet Avenue andfrequent the Juke Box, one of New Bedford's fewnightclubs.

Medeiros's friend Dulcineia F. Almeida praisesNew Bedford High School, where she is in hersenior year.

In addition to the "wide course selection,"Almeida calls attention to the "big mix" ofstudents.

The mingling of "Cape Verdeans, Portuguese,Puerto Ricans and Yankees" Almeida describes atNew Bedford High is representative of the city'sdiverse population.

In spite of New Bedford's scarce job market,immigrants continue to flock there.

Some see promise in the city government'smunicipal improvement campaign. But Teixeira saysshe remains skeptical.

"We keep saying we're on the verge of economicdevelopment," Teixeira says, "but I'm not surethat's really going to happen."

Just Around the Bend

But Stephen L. Furtado, an aide to NewBedford's recently inaugurated mayor Frederick M.Kalisz Jr., says changes are already in the worksfor New Bedford's economy.

"This is not a community of doom and gloom,"Furtado says. "It's a community that's beingenergized and has a lot of optimism."

With a recently designated historic park and a$126 million aquarium planned for the downtownarea, Furtado says New Bedford hopes to developtourism as its newest source of profit.

With I-195--the main thoroughfare from New Yorkto Cape Cod--running right through the middle ofthe city, New Bedford is seeking to serve as astopping point for weary travelers.

An expansion of the regional airport's runwayis already in the works, and an industrial parkmay be in New Bedford's future.

"We're in a bit of a transition period where wehave to look for new economic opportunities,"Furtado says. "We have a long history of successand prosperity, and we can be successful andprosperous again."

Rogers says New Bedford's history of successfultransitions is the most important thing toconsider when assessing the city's chances foreconomic rebirth.

"We've gone through so many cycles," heexplains. "We were once the richest city in theworld because of whaling, and then we had thelargest textile industry in the United States."

"When those times passed us, we moved on to thegarment industry," says Rogers, who has alsoserved as New Bedford's state representative forsix years.

Today, many city leaders are looking beyond thearea's traditional industries.

"Fishing and apparel will always be a part ofthe city, but it is really time to think aboutwhat will succeed these industries," said John K.Bullard '69, an IOP fellow and a former mayor ofNew Bedford.

Both Furtado and Rogers point to thestill-strong fish processing industry in NewBedford as a possible spring-board for economicrevitalization.

"Even though we're not landing as much fish aswe used to in our ports, we're continuing toprocess fish and ship fish around the world,"Furtado says. "We're looking to develop our harborso that we can import, export and process fishmore efficiently."

Cooperation with the private sector, a goal ofthe Kalisz administration, may also provepromising, Furtado says.

"In the past, the economic development wasdriven through city hall," Furtado says. "Nowwe'll be working with people who have realizedsuccess themselves.

"They can play a role in networking in theircommunity--they can sell and market the city,"Furtado says. "They can recognize the needs of thework force and the skills they need to work in aparticular industry."

And with a "very loyal and very dedicated workforce," Furtado says economic prosperity is boundto return.

"It's one of the community's greatestresources--the work ethic shared by everyone,"Furtado says.

Still, Rogers says that long-term economicgrowth will only be guaranteed when school reformis enacted.

The current high school dropout rate helps toexplain New Bedford's high unemployment, Rogerssays.

"There's definitely a correlation between thetwo," says Rogers, who has served as a citycouncilor for over 20 years.

Rogers recently introduced a bill to theCouncil that calling for stricter dress anddiscipline codes, improved remedial educationprograms and increased tutoring in New Bedfordschools.

"If bills like this pass, that will make theeconomic restoration even more effective," Rogerssays. "We are definitely on an upswing. I don'tknow many cities who can say that.CrimsonJacqueline A. NewmyerGOING NOWHERE SOON: Regulations havedrastically reduced the number of days fishingboats are allowed to spend at sea.