Economy

To help you navigate the ins and outs of the region's business community, WBJ has compiled a list for its Economic Forecast edition of 22 people who will have an outsized role in shaping those trends.

Every December, the WBJ Editorial Staff makes 10 predictions of news events and trends coming in the next year for the Central Massachusetts economy.

Looking into the crystal ball for 2022 in WBJ’s annual Economic Forecast survey, our readers don’t have quite the same level of optimism for the upcoming year at they did heading into 2021

After being brought to the mediation table with the U.S. labor secretary, Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester and the Massachusetts Nurses Association announced a tentative agreement to end an historic nine-month nurses strike on Friday night.

In November, only one state in America had a rising unemployment rate: Massachusetts. According to a BLS report released Friday, 48 states and Washington, D.C. saw declining unemployment rates, while Alabama's rate stayed the same.

Hybrid work schedules continue to prove popular among employers in Massachusetts, but inconsistent expectations of how much in-person time those entail could make it complicated for policymakers as they navigate the new reality, the head of a regional business group said.

For the first time in the 13 years that Chris White has served as the head of Road To Responsibility in Marshfield, the multi-service provider is putting people on waitlists to get into programs that serve people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The Worcester metropolitan area, which includes Worcester County and Windham County, Conn., saw a drop to a 5.2% unemployment rate in October, down 0.2 percentage points from the previous month, according to Thursday’s report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

WBJ is conducting its annual Economic Forecast survey, gauging readers' opinions about what 2022 will bring. Those who fill out the survey by Dec. 10 can win one of three $50 gift cards.

The Baker administration still does not know when it will announce how much money it will borrow to bolster the state's unemployment insurance fund or provide an updated estimate of the account's current balance, an uncertain outlook that has left businesses itching for information and could further delay recommendations for overhauling the joblessness aid system.