Opinion

Mass. unemployment rate decreased in August to 4.5%, but the state rate remains higher than the national average of 4.6%.

The U.S. and Massachusetts economies are shifting from the post-COVID period of rising prices, a white-hot employment market, and giddy consumers to one of slowing growth and rising unemployment.

Alexander Ovtchinnikov, senior vice president and chief technology officer at IPG Photonics Corp., is the second executive from the Marlborough-based company to retire within the past three months as IPG's new CEO attempts to combat the effects of falling stock prices and global stock issues. 

Many organizations aim to recruit and retain individuals from historically underrepresented backgrounds. However, simply increasing the numbers of underrepresented and marginalized individuals within a workforce does not guarantee success.

Small business development efforts have found that one of the most successful support structures for business growth and success have been business incubators.

Small towns have undergone dramatic change, from being the center of the universe for area farms to becoming isolated bedroom neighborhoods of larger city centers.

For the third year in a row, TJX Cos. Inc. President and CEO Ernie Herrman was the highest-paid CEO in Central Massachusetts. Herrman earned $22.2 million in total compensation for fiscal 2023, nearly 1,496 times more than the corporation’s median employee compensation of $14,857, according to TJX’s filings with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission.

Central Massachusetts business leaders are mildly optimistic as to where the economy has gone and is going in 2024. According to results from WBJ's Midyear Economic Survey, 64% of respondents said the local economy would improve either significantly or slightly in 2024.

Yes, newspapers, the institutions we generally think of when considering the state of media, have seen more than their share of declines. However, most of us who care about local news and for a generation have been longing for what was, we are missing what's taking place right in front of us.

Tensions were high at a May 23 Cannabis Control Commission meeting when one commission said another another had done something to create intense upheaval, discord, and instability.