Editorial Staff

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

/in , , , , , /by Editorial Staff
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on
LinkedIn
+

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!

[ytp_video source=”YBmDed3jiwg”]

“Be Strong, Saith My Heart” – National Poetry Month – 40 Resources for K-12 Students

In Pioneer’s ongoing series of blogs on curricular resources for parents, families, and teachers during COVID-19, this one focuses on: Celebrating National Poetry Month.

Stanford’s National Humanities Medal Winner Prof. Arnold Rampersad on Langston Hughes & Ralph Ellison

This week on “The Learning Curve," Gerard and Cara talk with Professor Arnold Rampersad, the Sara Hart Kimball Professor Emeritus in Humanities at Stanford University and recipient of the National Humanities Medal for his books including The Life of Langston Hughes and Ralph Ellison: A Biography.

Study Shows the Adverse Effects of Graduated Income Tax Proposal on Small Businesses

The state constitutional amendment promoted by the Massachusetts Teachers Association and the Service Employees International Union to add a 4 percent surtax to all annual income above $1 million will adversely impact a significant number of pass-through businesses, ultimately slowing the Commonwealth’s economic recovery from COVID-19, according to a new study published by Pioneer Institute.

COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker

Pioneer is proud to present a new vaccine tracker, the newest tool in our COVID-19 tracking project. Pioneer distilled the vaccination data down to those who are either fully vaccinated or partially vaccinated, by all the demographic categories published by the DPH. Use the new tool below to compare rates among groups, by municipality and by county. We will update the data every week.

The Washington Post’s Jay Mathews on An Optimist’s Guide to American Public Education

This week on “The Learning Curve," Gerard and Cara talk with Jay Mathews, an education columnist for The Washington Post and author of the recent book, An Optimist's Guide to American Public Education. Jay describes the three key trends in K-12 schooling that he views as cause for hope.

Grading Education in a Pandemic: Survey Finds Teachers Pass, Administrations Fail & Students Incomplete

This week on Hubwonk, Joe Selvaggi discusses a recently released survey from Pioneer Institute and Emerson Polling, "Massachusetts Residents’ Perceptions of K-12 Education During the Covid-19 Pandemic," with Emerson's lead analyst, Isabel Holloway, and Pioneer Institute’s Charlie Chieppo.

Poll Finds Mixed Views About Schools’ Pandemic Performance

A year into the COVID-19 pandemic, Massachusetts residents have mixed opinions about how K-12 education has functioned, but they tend to view the performance of individual teachers more favorably than that of institutions like school districts and teachers’ unions, according to a poll of 1,500 residents commissioned by Pioneer Institute.

Study: Graduated Income Tax Proposal Fails to Protect Taxpayers from Bracket Creep

The state constitutional amendment proposed by the Service Employees International Union and the Massachusetts Teachers Association to add a 4 percent surtax to all annual income above $1 million purports to use cost-of-living-based bracket adjustments as a safeguard that will ensure only millionaires will pay. But historic income growth trends suggest that bracket creep will cause many non-millionaires to be subject to the surtax over time, according to a new study published by Pioneer Institute.

Doctor Heal Thyself: Insider’s Prescription For Healthcare Reform

Host Joe Selvaggi talks with surgeon and New York Times bestselling author Dr. Marty Makary about the healthcare reform themes in The Price We Pay, the 2020 Business Book of the Year.  The discussion covers the value of price transparency, provider accountability, and performance information to drive better medical outcomes and improve doctor and patient satisfaction.

Pioneer Institute, The Immigrant Learning Center Co-Produce New Weekly Podcast

Pioneer Institute is pleased to announce the launch of JobMakers, a new weekly podcast that explores the world of risk-taking immigrants who create new products, services, and jobs in New England and across the United States. JobMakers is produced in collaboration with The Immigrant Learning Center (ILC) of Malden, MA.