In “Broad Industry Sector Trends in Massachusetts, 1998-2018,” two decades of data show fluctuating employment changes across the state, as well as changes in firm size and the types of firms disproportionately headquartered in the Commonwealth.
Health Care tops the list of those industries that have added the most jobs in Massachusetts from 2008-2018, with “Other Services” (everything from funeral home directors to valet parking attendants) and Accommodation & Food also comfortably outpacing population growth. It’s unclear how COVID-19 will affect these trends in the long-term.
The report is the second in a series that presents employment and business establishment trends in the Commonwealth on both the state and municipal levels.
“While Health Care easily leads in job gains, Educational Services remains the most heavily concentrated industry in Massachusetts relative to the national average,” said Andrew Mikula, who co-authored the report with Rebekah Paxton. “The Education sector also has plenty of very large individual employers, notably Boston University.”
Despite nearly a decade of economic growth through 2018, several industries were still shedding jobs in Massachusetts. Manufacturing, Wholesale Trade, and Public Administration top the list of most jobs lost by sector.
Agriculture and Mining & Extraction have enjoyed some of the strongest rates of employment growth in the state since the Great Recession. Still, industry sectors that work to extract raw materials in Massachusetts constitute a minuscule fraction of the state’s overall workforce.
All of the reports in Pioneer’s MassEconomix series use the same Your-economy Time Series data to develop aggregated numbers for statewide growth. This data is recorded by Infogroup and compiled by the Business Dynamics Research Consortium (BDRC) at the University of Wisconsin System Institute for Business and Entrepreneurship in Madison, Wisconsin.
Following this report, Pioneer will use these data to release regular publications that document trends in individual cities and towns, and create “snapshots” of particular industries.
About the Authors
Andrew Mikula is a Research Assistant. Mr. Mikula was previously a Lovett & Ruth Peters Economic Opportunity Fellow at Pioneer Institute and studied economics at Bates College.
Rebekah Paxton is a Research Analyst at Pioneer Institute. She earned an M.A. in Political Science and a B.A. in Political Science and Economics, from Boston University, where she graduated summa cum laude.
About Pioneer
Mission
Pioneer Institute develops and communicates dynamic ideas that advance prosperity and a vibrant civic life in Massachusetts and beyond.
Vision
Success for Pioneer is when the citizens of our state and nation prosper and our society thrives because we enjoy world-class options in education, healthcare, transportation, and economic opportunity, and when our government is limited, accountable and transparent.
Values
Pioneer believes that America is at its best when our citizenry is well-educated, committed to liberty, personal responsibility, and free enterprise, and both willing and able to test their beliefs based on facts and the free exchange of ideas.
Oops! We could not locate your form.
Related Posts
Pioneer Institute Applauds Healey Administration’s Proposal to Reduce LLC Filing Fees; More Reforms Needed to Address Economic Malaise
Pioneer Institute Study Calls for Attrition Strategy to Rein in Record-High Massachusetts State Workforce
Boston is 48th out of 55 Metro Areas in the Competition for Young Workers
New Study Finds Massachusetts Business Formation Has Plummeted Despite National Surge
Massachusetts Economic Development Bill Includes a Key Provision for Streamlining the Review of Housing Development Applications
Tax Day: A Reflection on State Income Taxes and Competitiveness
New Study Calls for Reducing or Eliminating Parking Requirements for New Housing
New BLS Employment Data Revisions Reveal Massachusetts’ Anemic Private Sector Employment Growth Since 2020
Massachusetts Has Taken an Important Step on Government AI—But the Commonwealth Must Do More to Improve Services, Transparency, and Save Taxpayer Dollars
North Carolina Surges with 449K Jobs as Massachusetts Jobs Fall by 18K
Pioneer Institute Supports the Ballot Initiative to Reduce the State Income Tax Rate from 5 to 4 Percent to Spur Jobs and Economic Growth
Massachusetts Faces Tax Policy Choice as New Analysis Finds Prior Rate Reductions Did Not Reduce Long-Term Revenue
Florida’s Private Sector Is Booming
Tax Flight Takes Off: IRS Data Reveal Surge of Massachusetts Residents Fleeing to Tax-Friendly States Following the 4 Percent Surtax
Accessory Dwelling Units Accounted for At Least 10 Percent of New Homes Permitted in Massachusetts in 2025
