Behind The Sound Bite
This issue’s sound bite comes from Greg Bialecki, secretary of the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, who addressed the Central Mass South Chamber of Commerce July 12. During his remarks he said the state had added 40,000 jobs since Jan. 1. On a percentage basis, he said the state is ranked fourth in the country in terms of job growth. The vast majority of those added jobs “are in fact private sector jobs,” he said.
Claim 1: The state added 40,000 jobs since Jan. 1.
Bialecki was actually conservative in his estimate. According to the state’s Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development and the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 44,800 more people employed in Massachusetts at the end of May compared to January.
Claim 2: On a percentage basis, he said the state is ranked fourth in the country in terms of job growth.
According to the WBJ’s research, this claim may be a little boastful. Based on an analysis of BLS data, there were 3,182,400 people employed in Massachusetts as of May. That’s up 1.4 percent from the 3,137,600 people who were employed at the start of the year. Our analysis shows that Massachusetts ranks No. 6, behind Indiana, Delaware, Maryland, Texas and West Virginia. It may also be misleading to call the increase in employment “job growth.” The data available merely indicate the number of people employed at a given time. It does not indicate whether that person has filled an existing or new job.
Claim 3: A majority of the added jobs are from the private sector.
This claim is definitely true. Of those newly employed since January, 77 percent, or 34,500, were people employed in the private sector. That estimate from the BLS is based on a survey from 140,000 businesses representing 410,000 worksites in the country, according to Tim Consedine, an economist at the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics office in Boston.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments