Is Boston’s Health Care Industry Still Growing? Here’s What the Data Says.

From 1998 to 2018 in Massachusetts, employment in the Health Care and Social Assistance sector grew by 45% and the number of establishments grew by 149%, as seen in Figures 1.a. and 1.b. below. The number of establishments has increased steadily over time with the exception of 2014-2015, while employment growth has fluctuated after the 2008 recession. Generally, year-to-year changes in employment and the number of establishments are positively correlated, with the major exception of the recession in 2008-2010, in which employment in the industry contracted and the number of business establishments grew.

Figure 1.a. The number of employees in the Health Care and Social Assistance industry in Massachusetts over time

Figure 1.b. The number of employers in the Health Care and Social Assistance industry in Massachusetts over time

Between 1998 and 2016, there were 38% more business births than business deaths in the Health Care and Social Assistance industry in Massachusetts (see Figure 2 below). Generally, the level of business turnover has remained a stable percentage of total industry establishments over this period, but the absolute number of firms entering or exiting the market has increased as the industry has grown.

While the number of establishments in this industry generally increased between 1998 and 2016, the industry had a large number of establishments go out of business in 2013 and 2014. This is especially true in Suffolk and Worcester Counties, and the struggles of health care businesses in these areas in 2013 and 2014 may be related to a mini-boom in suburban development as the nation recovered from the 2008 housing crisis. In fact, Nantucket and Dukes Counties saw the largest gains in health care establishments between 2013 and 2018. In 2018, the number of health care establishments in Suffolk County (which includes Boston) remained 10% less than its 2013 peak.

Curiously, the number of new businesses in the Health Care and Social Assistance sector was higher during the Great Recession than in the prior period of economic expansion. This may be attributable to a significant growth in social and health care services targeted at financially struggling families and individuals. In fact, there is another spike in business births in this industry in 2001, also a recession year. A smaller surge in the number of industry births in 2006 notably coincides with a state-level health care reform under Chapter 58 enacted in that year.

The number of business deaths is very stable until 2013. The net business births figure for the industry has proved quite volatile in recent years, with a couple annual swings of over 5,000 net births.

Figure 2: The number of business births and deaths in the Health Care and Social Assistance industry in Massachusetts over time

More information on business trends, whether by industry, geography, or in the aggregate, is available at MassEconomix.com.

Andrew Mikula is the Lovett & Ruth Peters Economic Opportunity Fellow at the Pioneer Institute. Research areas of particular interest to Mr. Mikula include urban issues, affordability, and regulatory structures. Mr. Mikula was previously a Roger Perry Government Transparency Intern at the Institute and studied economics at Bates College.

As States Compete for Talent and Families, Massachusetts Experienced a Six-Fold Increase in Lost Wealth Compared to a Decade Earlier

June 9, 2022

With competition for businesses and talent heating up across the country, in 2020 Massachusetts shed taxpayers and wealth at a clip six times faster than even just a decade ago. Between 2010 to 2020, Massachusetts’ net loss of adjusted gross Income (AGI) to other states due to migration grew from $422 million to $2.6 billion, according to recently released IRS data now available on Pioneer Institute’s Massachusetts IRS Data Discovery website. Over 71 percent of the loss was to Florida and New Hampshire, both no income tax states.

https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/Picture1-2.png 247 624 Editorial Staff https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_440x96.png Editorial Staff2022-06-09 10:58:442022-06-09 10:59:08As States Compete for Talent and Families, Massachusetts Experienced a Six-Fold Increase in Lost Wealth Compared to a Decade Earlier

Book Reveals How Tax Hike Amendment Would Damage Commonwealth’s Economic Competitiveness

May 25, 2022

If adopted, a constitutional amendment to hike state taxes that will appear on the ballot in November could erase the hard-earned progress Massachusetts has achieved toward economic competitiveness over the last 25 years and may not result in any additional education and transportation funding, according to a new book from Pioneer Institute, entitled Back to Taxachusetts?: How the proposed tax amendment would upend one of the nation’s best economies, which is a distillation of two dozen academic studies.

https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/Untitled-design-2022-05-25T083008.246.png 512 1000 Editorial Staff https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_440x96.png Editorial Staff2022-05-25 08:30:492022-07-06 07:51:30Book Reveals How Tax Hike Amendment Would Damage Commonwealth’s Economic Competitiveness

Study Documents The Design Challenges, Contracting Issues, And Delays Facing New MBTA Fare Collection System

May 19, 2022

This new study unearths previously unseen communications between the MBTA and its contractors, showing that the MBTA’s efforts to modernize its fare collection system, including allowing payments with credit cards and bringing “tap and go” technology to Commuter Rail and ferry lines, was riddled with technological challenges and difficulties overseeing contractors as early as 2019, culminating in a 3-year delay to the project’s full implementation.

https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/public-statement-3.png 900 1600 Editorial Staff https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_440x96.png Editorial Staff2022-05-19 00:01:132022-05-18 22:19:05Study Documents The Design Challenges, Contracting Issues, And Delays Facing New MBTA Fare Collection System

Study: Legislature Likely to Reduce Spending on Education and Transportation from Other Revenue Sources, Replace Cuts with Surtax Money

March 10, 2022

Revenue from a ballot initiative to amend the state Constitution and raise income taxes on households and businesses by adopting a graduated income tax structure would supposedly provide resources for transportation and public education, but a new study published by Pioneer Institute finds that, were the tax amendment to pass, the money would be fungible and much of it likely spent on general budget measures.   

https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/BlankCheck.png 512 1024 Editorial Staff https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_440x96.png Editorial Staff2022-03-10 05:58:182022-03-10 06:24:03Study: Legislature Likely to Reduce Spending on Education and Transportation from Other Revenue Sources, Replace Cuts with Surtax Money

Study Finds Bus Rapid Transit Can Offer Cost-Effective Benefits

February 8, 2022

Bus rapid transit (BRT) incorporates unique features such as dedicated lanes to provide reliable and cost-effective service while reducing congestion and its detrimental environmental impacts, according to a new study published by Pioneer Institute.

https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/Copy-of-11.-Employees-of-the-Public-Sector-1-2.png 512 1024 Editorial Staff https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_440x96.png Editorial Staff2022-02-08 06:15:472022-02-08 06:15:47Study Finds Bus Rapid Transit Can Offer Cost-Effective Benefits

Pioneer Supports Legal Challenge to Misleading Tax Ballot Language, Releases Video

January 27, 2022

Pioneer Institute supports the diverse and bipartisan group that filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) challenging the summary language meant to provide an accurate description of the tax hike amendment to voters. The language was approved by the Attorney General and Secretary of the Commonwealth when a similar amendment was proposed in 2018, and unless the lawsuit is successful, will likely appear on the Massachusetts ballot in November.

https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/public-statement-1.png 900 1600 Editorial Staff https://pioneerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_440x96.png Editorial Staff2022-01-27 11:57:102022-01-28 11:24:17Pioneer Supports Legal Challenge to Misleading Tax Ballot Language, Releases Video