Economy

Massachusetts is creating jobs faster than most other states and leading the nation out of the economic recession.

  •  Massachusetts added 23,000 jobs in the first two months of 2012.  The state's unemployment rate holds at 6.9 %, well below the national rate of 8.3% and the lowest monthly rate since December 2008. Link
  • Our continued success and our record of balanced budgets and fiscal discipline led Standard and Poor's to upgrade our state’s credit ranking to AA+, the highest in our state’s history.  Link
  • Suffolk University’s Beacon Hill Institute ranks Massachusetts the number one state in the country for economic competitiveness. Link
  • Business confidence is going up: in a recent survey from the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, thirty-two percent of employers plan to add to their staffs over the next six months. Link
  • CNBC ranks Massachusetts the sixth-best place in America to do business. Link
  • A recent Business Journal analysis ranked Boston first in the nation and Worcester third in the nation for job growth for the second quarter of 2011. Link
  • Of the top 20 cities in America for economic recovery, according to the Brookings Institution, three are located in Massachusetts:  Boston, Worcester, and Springfield. Link

 

The Governor's growth strategy has focused on targeted investments in education, infrastructure and innovation.

Education

  • Governor Patrick’s Administration has supported public K-12 education at the highest levels in the history of the Commonwealth.
  • Massachusetts students rank top five internationally in math and science and lead the nation in math, science, and reading according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
  • Massachusetts was the top scorer in the national Race to the Top education innovation competition.

Innovation

  • The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center has invested over $200 million of state resources to generate more than $700 million in outside investment and thousands of jobs. 
  • Massachusetts is now investing more per capita in energy efficiency – our “first fuel” – than any other state in the US.  This year, Massachusetts was named number one in the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy's annual state-by-state energy efficiency scorecard.
  • Solar energy installments have increased by over 25-fold since 2007 and wind energy installments have increased by 13-fold.
  • According to an October report released by the MassCEC, the clean energy sector saw 6.7 percent job growth between July 2010 and July 2011, and that number is expected to grow.
  • 86 cities and towns across the state will receive $17.6 million to fund local renewable power and energy efficiency projects through the Green Communities Grant Program. 
  • Boston is ranked the #1 life sciences cluster in the United States according to Jones Lang LaSalle.

Infrastructure

  • In 2011, Massachusetts invested nearly a billion in road and bridge projects to fund 450 projects, including 300 active construction projects and 150 maintenance projects.
  • The state’s Accelerated Bridge Program is an unprecedented 8-year, $3 billion investment in the Commonwealth's bridges, which will dramatically reduce the number of structurally deficient bridges in Massachusetts. Already, the program has reduced the number of structurally deficient bridges by 20%.
  • Through the MassBroadband Institute the Patrick-Murray Administration has invested $40 million to leverage public and private resources to expand high-speed Internet to all of the state’s cities and towns.