GREATER BOSTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Massachusetts Jobs & Policy Update |
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Welcome to the revamped Massachusetts Jobs & Policy Update from the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber publishes this monthly update to provide public officials with insight into state and regional job trends, as well as a snapshot of policy issues that are critical to the region's business community.
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IN THIS ISSUE |
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Public Policy Issues
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Jobs
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Upcoming Chamber Government Affairs Forum
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PUBLIC POLICY ISSUES |
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Unemployment Insurance: Legislation Needed to Prevent 42% Tax Increase |
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Under current law, Massachusetts employers will face a 42% increase in the first quarter of 2010 in unemployment insurance (UI) tax rates unless corrective legislation is passed. That increase would raise UI costs by an average of $250 per worker. Massachusetts UI costs are already among the highest in the nation. Enactment of legislation in early 2010 that implements a less dramatic increase in UI tax rates would help mitigate an obstacle to
new hiring, without jeopardizing the overall solvency of the UI trust fund based on current projections.
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Education Reform: Strong Legislation Needed to Secure “Race to the Top” Funding |
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The Senate education bill passed earlier this month would increase the cap on charter schools in the lowest performing districts, establish Innovation Schools with increased flexibility and autonomy, and create new methods for turning around underperforming schools. The Chamber supports these reforms and urges the House to include them in its education legislation. In addition, final legislation should enable the commissioner of education and
superintendents to intervene in underperforming and chronically underperforming schools. Enactment of a strong education bill in early January will enable Massachusetts to compete for, and win, Race to the Top funding. |
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Higher Education: Sustaining the Innovation Engine |
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The Chamber’s second Competitiveness Scorecard, released this month, shows that Massachusetts’ colleges and universities play
a vital role in promoting and sustaining innovation. Despite the state’s relative strength in higher ed-based patent production (#1 in US, per capita), federal R&D funding, and start-ups, additional measures could bolster this leadership position. These measures include: creating a “3-in-3” investment incentive to promote patient capital in Massachusetts start-ups; strengthening higher ed-business connections for talent development; sustaining a strong commitment to federally sponsored R&D; and
not taxing institutional endowments that continue to fuel research. Click here to download the Scorecard. |
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For more information on the Chamber's policy agenda, contact Jim Klocke, executive vice president; Tim Sweeney, director of public policy; or Sarah Lanning, assistant director of economic development. |
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JOBS |
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Massachusetts Jobs Update: October 2009 |
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State lost 900 jobs last month; posted 3.1% job loss last 12 months, moderately better than US annual job loss rate of 4.0%
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State unemployment rate drops to 8.9%, first rate decline since June 2007 and substantially lower than US rate (10.2%)
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Five of 12 regions added jobs last month; all 12 regions shed jobs year-over-year
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Education and Health Services are only two sectors to add jobs statewide year-over-year
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Regional Jobs Breakdown |
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Metropolitan Region |
Total
Jobs |
Change Since August 2008
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MASSACHUSETTS |
3,175,400 |
-3.1% |
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Barnstable |
93,700 |
-5.4% |
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Boston-Cambridge-Quincy |
1,671,600 |
-2.6% |
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Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton |
84,500 |
-4.2% |
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Framingham |
156,100 |
-1.8% |
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Haverhill-North Andover-Amesbury |
73,900 |
-4.4% |
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Leominster-Fitchburg-Gardner |
48,300 |
-3.8% |
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Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford |
114,400 |
-3.4% |
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New Bedford |
63,500 |
-3.6% |
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Peabody |
96,700 |
-3.6% |
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Pittsfield |
34,900 |
-3.6% |
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Springfield |
286,200 |
-3.3% |
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Worcester |
242,600 |
-1.5% |
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UPCOMING GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS FORUM BREAKFASTS |
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