Briefing: Jobs, training, innovation
Massachusetts leads the nation in innovation jobs, with nearly 4-in-10 residents working in industries such as health care, financial services and software design, according to a Massachusetts Technology Collaborative study released this month. The Bay State's innovation sector grew 1 percent in 2012, close to the average for the nation's leading technology states. Defense manufacturing and technical services have seen the greatest job growth in the commonwealth, while computer hardware and industrial manufacturing have had the largest job losses. Here are more details from the study.
How much money is coming in to fund innovation?
Research and development funding for universities and nonprofits in Massachusetts has grown 26 percent since 2006. The commonwealth receives $3.8 billion each year in federal R&D funding, second only to California. Massachusetts also remains a leader in small business research and technology award dollars as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP). Award values, though, have decreased 13 percent each of the past two years, to $240 million. The state's venture capital firms raised a third of all U.S. venture capital in 2013, tripling the amount they raised in 2012, to $5.4 billion. Software and biotechnology were the biggest targets for venture funds.
What has that accomplished?
Massachusetts' research and development spending is equal to 5 percent of the state's GDP, highest in the country. Patents issued to Massachusetts companies have grown 37 percent since 2008, which is the highest in the country on a per-capita basis. Research institutions and universities have more than doubled the number of technology licenses and options executed since 2002, with license revenue having grown 26 percent from 2011 to 2012. And the Bay State produces nearly 1,600 science and engineering academic articles per million residents, triple the U.S. average.
How is the next generation being prepared?
Massachusetts spends just $4,712 per public higher education student, about $1,100 less than the U.S. average. Higher education funding per student in the Bay State has fallen 37 percent over the past five years, well more than the national average of a 23-percent decrease. High school degree attainment in the commonwealth has also fallen slightly since 2011. Still, 45 percent of adults in Massachusetts have at least a bachelor's degree, highest in the country. The commonwealth leads the nation in conferring college degrees, with 16 per 1,000 residents.
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