Behind The Sound Bite
It’s election season and that means there is plenty of fodder for Behind the Sound Bite. For this issue, we decided to check the veracity of claims made by Charles Baker about the state of the Massachusetts economy. Baker was quoted in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette on Oct. 6 saying that the state added “no net new jobs in 10 years” and that the state “has the 26th highest unemployment rate.” We did some digging and found that Baker has his facts straight on this one.
What has the employment picture been in Massachusetts over the last decade?
Not so good. The number of people employed in Massachusetts has declined 4.7 percent from 3,329,300 in 2000 to 3,173,000 in 2009. The year 2001 was a peak for employment, when it reached 3,339,300.
After that year, employment steadily declined until 2004. The state began picking up ground in 2005, but then lost 117,000 jobs from 2008 to 2009. That was the largest year-over-year decrease of the decade.
How does Massachusetts compare to other states when it comes to unemployment?
Massachusetts is in fact ranked No. 26 in the United States in terms of unemployment, with an 8.8 percent rate. Interestingly, the Bay State is tied with West Virginia. That’s 1.1 points better than the U.S. average unemployment, which stands at 9.9 percent.
Is there any good news when it comes to jobs in Massachusetts?
Yes, there is. Massachusetts reported the second highest year-over-year increase in employment (1.5 percent) in August. New Hampshire and Oklahoma were tied for first with a 1.7 percent increase.
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