GREATER BOSTON
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Massachusetts Jobs &
Policy Update |
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OCTOBER |
Welcome to the newly 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 |
- Public Policy Issues
- Jobs
- Upcoming Chamber Government Affairs
Forum
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| PUBLIC POLICY ISSUES |
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Tax Policy: Combined Reporting Corrections
Needed |
Massachusetts combined reporting tax rules released in May create an
uneven playing field for multistate and multinational companies
doing business in Massachusetts. Enactment of HB 2694, corrective
legislation, will keep the playing field level. It will ensure that
those companies, which employ hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts
residents, continue to hire and grow here. |
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Education: Charter/Readiness Schools Will
Attract Race to the Top Funds |
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The federal government will soon award $4 billion in Race to the Top
Funds to states that rank high on educational innovation. To compete
for these funds, and to strengthen the K-12 system, Massachusetts
needs to enact an education bill in the weeks ahead. The Chamber
supports legislation that will raise the cap on charter schools,
create new education models such as Readiness Schools, and establish
new mechanisms for turning around underperforming schools. |
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| Health Care: Cost
Control Steps Should be Expanded |
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A number of ideas are being put forward to slow the rapid growth of
health care costs. Such growth burdens everyone who pays for health
care, including employers, individuals, state and local governments.
The Chamber believes that Massachusetts should focus on
cost-management alternatives, such as medical homes, electronic medical
records, and payment reform, while resisting the lure of quick fixes. State health care
purchasing policies, in Medicaid and other programs, can also have a
positive effect on health care costs. |
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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: September 2009 |
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State lost
9,200 jobs last month; unemployment rate rises to 9.3%, up 3.7%
last 12 months
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State falls to 207,600
jobs below previous peak, lowest jobs level since April 1998
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All 12 regions shed
jobs last 12 months; seven of 12 regions shed jobs last month
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State posted 3.4% job loss last 12 months, moderately better
than US job loss rate of 4.2%
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Regional Jobs
Breakdown |
| Metropolitan
Region |
Total
Jobs |
Change Since August 2008 |
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MASSACHUSETTS |
3,176,400 |
-3.4% |
| Barnstable |
95,700 |
-4.7% |
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Boston-Cambridge-Quincy |
1,670,600 |
-2.8% |
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Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton |
85,200 |
-3.5% |
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Framingham |
156,300 |
-2.2% |
| Haverhill-North
Andover-Amesbury |
74,100 |
-4.1% |
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Leominster-Fitchburg-Gardner |
48,200 |
-4.0% |
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Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford |
114,100 |
-3.4% |
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New Bedford |
63,300 |
-3.4% |
| Peabody |
97,500 |
-3.6% |
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Pittsfield |
35,200 |
-3.6% |
| Springfield |
286,100 |
-3.7% |
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Worcester |
242,600 |
-1.7% | |
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UPCOMING
GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS FORUM BREAKFASTS |
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