From the Editor: What changed in 2025?

What a difference a year makes. WBJ first launched its Midyear Economic Forecast edition in 2021 as an addendum to our annual end-of-year Economic Forecast edition, which is a look-ahead at the upcoming year. With the midyear survey, we want to see how the events of the year so far changed people’s feelings. In the 2024 Midyear Economic Forecast edition, these were the headlines and subheadings for the main stories: • Modest optimism: In WBJ’s annual midyear survey, business leaders are largely feeling good about where the economy has gone and is going in 2024, with some reservations • Not feeling the vibecession: Consumers may not be over the moon about the economy, but Central Mass. leaders see a somewhat stable economy headed in the right direction • Developing equity: New $50M public-private fund seeks to address both the housing crisis and the lack of diversity in the development space • Keeping nurses in the field: As burnout becomes a greater problem in health care, UMass Memorial’s first-year nurse program works to keep high retention rates • Providing a safe space: As anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment rises, local bar owners see their businesses as places of comfort and safety Compare those to the 2025 Midyear Economic Forecast edition: • A turn for the worse: In the annual midyear survey, WBJ readers say their outlook for the 2025 economy has soured since the start of the year. • Keeping construction working: Long plagued by labor shortages, local construction officials are trying to stem the pain caused by a population drop and Trump’s anti-immigrant campaign. • A $250M gap in the safety net: The Mass. Health Safety Net is experiencing its greatest-ever deficit, leaving Central Mass. community centers and hospitals to fight for themselves. • An assembly line of homes: Worcester firm sees factory-built apartment units as a potential gamechanger for the region’s housing crunch. • Surviving the Valley of Death: Worcester’s oldest incubator has brought on an in-house investment firm for the first time in 30 years. • Clark University to lay off up to 30% of faculty, significantly restructure degree tracks amid financial strain. What a difference a year makes. Brad Kane is editor of the Worcester Business Journal.