Editorial Staff

Pioneer Launches Report Series Highlighting Massachusetts Job Growth and Business Trends Since 1998

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Report Provides Deeper Insight into Economic Impact of COVID-19

BOSTON – As we learn more about the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the Bay State’s workforce, it is becoming more important that we deepen our understanding of the state’s economy. Knowledge of local, regional, and state employment and business establishments will be critical for policymakers’ efforts to minimize long-term economic fallout.

A new resource from Pioneer Institute, MassEconomix.org, equips users to take a much closer look at Massachusetts’ businesses by various levels of geography and industry, and explore job and business growth, from the local to the state level.

A new report from Pioneer Institute that draws on data from MassEconomix shows that levels of employment in Massachusetts had surpassed pre-Great Recession levels as of 2018.

In “Some Big, Broad Economic Trends in Massachusetts,” Pioneer analysis of two decades of data shows fluctuating employment changes across the state, as well as firm size information and the largest employers. While the number of jobs and businesses has risen over the years, the average size of Massachusetts firms has decreased.

“Having access to employment data down to the firm level allows us to view aggregated trends more accurately,” said Rebekah Paxton, a research analyst at Pioneer who has worked with the Business Dynamics Research Consortium (BDRC) data since 2018. “These data give us a unique picture of where growth is coming from in the state.”

“Some Big, Broad Economic Trends” analyzes the same Your-economy Time Series data that powers MassEconomix.org, including firm-level employment, industry code, and location information, to develop aggregated numbers for statewide growth. This data is recorded by Infogroup and compiled by the BDRC at the University of Wisconsin System Institute for Business and Entrepreneurship in Madison, Wisconsin.

This report is the first in a series that will present the general employment and business establishment trends in the Commonwealth that can be found using MassEconomix.

In the coming weeks and months, Pioneer will be providing analysis using this data to provide deeper insight on the Massachusetts economy, and specifically into how the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to affect communities and industries within the state.

Pioneer Institute is an independent, non-partisan, privately funded research organization that seeks to improve the quality of life in Massachusetts through civic discourse and intellectually rigorous, data-driven public policy solutions based on free market principles, individual liberty and responsibility, and the ideal of effective, limited and accountable government.

Get Updates on Our Economic Opportunity Research

Visit MassEconomix!

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Statement on Massachusetts Falling from 34th to 46th on Tax Foundation’s 2024 Business Tax Climate Index

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Poll: MA Voters Oppose Legislative Proposals to Change Tax Rebate Law

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Study: Immigrant Entrepreneurs Benefit N.E. Economy, Despite Facing Obstacles to Growth

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Public Statement on the House’s Proposed Tax Reform and Budget

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As COVID-19 Emergencies Ease, Some Progress on Telehealth Rules

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Report: Immigrant Entrepreneurs Provide Economic Benefits, but Face Significant Obstacles

Immigrants have started a quarter of all businesses in Massachusetts despite making up just 17 percent of the state workforce, and those establishments appear to be more innovative than those founded by native-born Americans. Despite these contributions, shrinking federal visa caps and red tape are among the factors making it more difficult for immigrants to come to the U.S., according to “Immigrant Entrepreneurs and the Barriers They Face: An Academic Literature Review,” published by Pioneer Institute. 

Pioneer Institute Statement on Question 1

Yesterday, voters came closer than many expected to rejecting the largest tax increase in Massachusetts history, even though opponents were dramatically outspent by the unions that bankrolled the amendment to the state Constitution. 

Khan Academy’s Sal Khan & ASU Prep Digital’s Amy McGrath on the Khan World School @ ASU Prep

This week on “The Learning Curve," Cara Candal and Gerard Robinson talk with Sal Khan, founder and CEO of Khan Academy, and Amy McGrath, the Chief Operating Officer of ASU Prep and Deputy Vice President of ASU Educational Outreach.

Study: Legislators Must Answer Key Questions Before Setting Policy for App-Based Rideshare/Delivery Workers

After Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court declared an initiative that was to appear on the November ballot unconstitutional, the issue of how to classify app-based rideshare/delivery workers is back in the hands of the state Legislature.  A new study published by Pioneer Institute distills from the research literature eight questions legislators must answer before determining how to address this fast-growing industry.

Pioneer Institute Expects That Massachusetts Taxpayers Will Be Refunded $3.2B Due To State Revenue Cap

Pioneer Institute projects that the state will refund approximately $3.2 billion to taxpayers due to a state law sponsored by Citizens for Limited Taxation and voted on by taxpayers in 1986 that caps the amount of revenue the state can collect in any given year.