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Massachusetts lost 35,000 private-sector jobs and is one of just six states yet to regain pre-pandemic employment levels  Boston – Data released today from the Bureau of Labor Statistics confirm that the Commonwealth has lost even more private sector jobs in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic than previously understood.  Pioneer Institute’s March 2025 report Massachusetts at Risk: The Alarming...

New Pioneer brief finds Massachusetts has reported just 20 AI use cases, only three of them directly serving constituents. 

Questions abound about the resilience of the Massachusetts economy.  Pioneer Institute has documented that high-net-worth individuals are fleeing the state for states with friendlier tax environments.  There is also a question about whether small businesses in the state can sustain and thrive in a business environment increasingly characterized by high...

Analysis compares decade-long changes in tax rates, private sector employment, and revenue growth in two competing state economies

At a legislative hearing today before the Special Committee on Initiative Petitions, Pioneer Institute Executive Director Jim Stergios testified on the urgency of addressing Massachusetts’ affordability crisis, slowing job growth, and continued loss of investment, and why a gradual reduction in the...

Historical evidence shows revenues rose after early-2000s tax cuts; FY2002 decline driven by economic shock, not policy

BOSTON – A new poll commissioned by Pioneer Institute finds that an overwhelming 90 percent of Hampden County residents support expanding county students’ access to vocational-technical high schools.   “Vocational-technical high schools are a bright spot amid an extended period of declining...

When economists assess a state’s economic health, private sector employment is one of the clearest signals of momentum. It’s a lagging economic indicator that corresponds to increases in business creation, wage growth, and consumer activity, so when private sector employment is growing robustly, it bodes well for a state’s overall economic outlook and health.  In recent years, Florida has stood out as one of the...

Net AGI Loss to Florida and New Hampshire Quintuples in a Decade as 26-35-Year-Old Outmigration Continues Newly released 2023 IRS migration data – the first full year after the 4 percent surtax on incomes over $1 million took effect – show Massachusetts losing more than double the amount of adjusted gross income...

Sunshine Week is an opportunity to celebrate transparency in government. Unfortunately, this year we once again observe it by pointing out major shortcomings in open government—starting with the Massachusetts Legislature’s continued refusal to practice it. Voters spoke clearly in 2024: they want the...