Economic Forecast 2010: A New Publication For A New Year
Welcome to the 2010 Economic Forecast, produced by the Worcester Business Journal. While the concept of writing about coming trends is not new to the WBJ, the packaging and content for this particular publication are.
In the past, we've included our special Economic Forecast content within a regular issue. But this year, given how much uncertainty there is in the year ahead, we decided to devote an entire special issue (48 pages to be exact) to looking forward and examining the potential for growth in our region. We think this publication, with its variety of content and perspectives, will provide realistic hope for the coming year as well as an honest analysis of the Central Massachusetts market. As you consider plans for the next 12 months, the insights included in these pages might just give you the push you need to take a chance on a new venture, or in some cases, give you pause to reconsider your plans. No matter what the result, we believe this issue provides local market intelligence that you can't find anywhere else.
Word On The Street
Herein you'll find the results of our annual survey of readers, which this year reveals a more optimistic (if not pragmatic) outlook from local business executives. Overall, our readers do think 2010 will be better than 2009. But the concerning news to be gleaned from our survey is that our readers don't expect to be adding jobs anytime soon.
This special issue also includes industry-by-industry forecasts. We've included in-depth analysis on six sectors of the local economy - Manufacturing & Technology, Energy, Real Estate, Health Care, Education and Banking & Finance. Also within each industry category we went straight to the experts to provide you with some quick takes on important questions facing our region.
Our favorite new addition to the Economic Forecast issue is the "What Businesses Want" feature. There's been a tremendous amount of political rhetoric on the state and national stage over the last 12 months about what businesses need to bounce back from the recession. Instead of devoting space to more speculation, we decided to go straight to the small business owners to find out what they really need to survive and thrive. You'll find their honest, spin-free answers on the pages that follow.
We've also added another new section called "Outside Perspectives" where we invited contributions from economists as well as elected and municipal leaders. Included in that section is an exclusive commentary piece by Gov. Deval Patrick with his musings on how Massachusetts can capitalize on the changing economic tide of 2010.
In this publication, we wanted to provide our readers with a mix of short, snappy bits of information, as well as more in-depth analysis that you've come to expect from the Worcester Business Journal. Our hope is that when you flip through the pages of the 2010 Economic Forecast, you'll find plenty of reasons to stop and take note of the information our in-house staff and freelance writers have gathered.
On that note, we'd like to thank staff writers Matthew L. Brown and Shaun Tolson, as well as freelance contributors Taryn Plumb and Brian Goslow, for their industry analysis. Also, credit belongs to Staff Writer Livia Gershon for all the "Expert Predictions" pieces you'll find within this issue. She also lined up many of the outside contributions and edited many of the stories.
From everyone on staff at the Worcester Business Journal, we hope you find this 2010 Economic Forecast issue a useful companion into the New Year. Please let us know what you found useful, and what you'd like to see us include in this publication in the future, by sending an e-mail to editorial@wbjournal.com.
- Christina H. Davis, editor,
Worcester Business Journal
Table of Contents
Manufacturing & Technology
Industry Overview
Expert Predictions
Energy
Industry Overview
Expert Predictions
Real Estate
Industry Overview
Expert Predictions
Health Care
Industry Overview
Expert Predictions
Education
Industry Overview
Expert Predictions
Banking & Finance
Industry Overview
Expert Predictions
What Businesses Want
Susan Mailman, Coghlin Electric
Micah Chase, Checkerboard Ltd.
Michelle Drolet, Towerwall
Steve Rothschild, Applied Interactive
Jean Giguere, Smith & Jones
Wyatt Wade, Davis Publications
Outside Perspectives
Alan Clayton Matthews, economist, Northeastern University
Sen. Harriette Chandler, D-Worcester
Worcester City Manager Michael O'Brien
WBJ Web Partners
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