By Natalya Koshnitsky, Marketing Manager and Newsletter Editor, Resource Partnership
The economic outlook, including industry and job market growth, is a subject everyone is eager to learn about not only to be able to successfully find employment, but also to advance or change careers by acquiring the skills sets currently in demand. For this issue of our newsletter I had the opportunity to interview Elliot Winer, Director of Economic Analysis and Chief Economist at the Massachusetts Department of Workforce Development, who helps us understand the current economic situation in Massachusetts.
Q: Mr. Winer, what is the current economic situation in Massachusetts? Are there indications of job growth or is the job market still in a recession?
A: The current economic situation in Massachusetts is good, but not as strong as we would like. Jobs in Massachusetts have been expanding for over three years since bottoming out in December 2003. However, the 85,000 plus jobs we have added during this period still represent less than half the jobs we lost during the downturn.
Q: Could you please break it down even further by regions i.e. Greater Boston, Central and Western Massachusetts?
A: All regions of the Commonwealth have shown job increases over the past year. The Greater Boston region has grown somewhat faster than the State throughout the recovery period. Over the past year the Pittsfield and Worcester areas, in addition to the greater Boston area, have generated the fastest rates of job growth while the Cape area has grown the slowest.
Q: What are the fastest growing industries in Massachusetts?
A: The two fastest growing industry super sectors in Massachusetts are education and health and professional, scientific, and business services. More specifically, strong growth industries within these two super sectors include hospitals, ambulatory health care services, scientific research and development, and management, scientific, and technical consulting services.
Q: What industries do you expect to generate the most new jobs through 2014?
A: Nearly two-thirds of all new wage and salary jobs will occur in health care and social assistance and professional, scientific, and business services. The two individual industries that should generate the most new jobs are food service and drinking places and hospitals.
Q: Why is it that the fastest growing industries do not always generate the most new jobs? For example, software publishers is the fastest growing industry but will generate only 9,600 jobs whereas food service and drinking places, which is not even included in the top 20 growing industries, will generate the most new jobs, i.e. 22,480 through 2014? Could you explain this phenomenon?
Q: What are the fastest growing occupations in Massachusetts?
A: Jobs for professional and technical workers should increase faster than those for other occupational groups. Of the 30 occupations projected to grow the fastest, all but a few are in the computer, biomedical, science, engineering, or health areas. Network system and data communication analysts, computer software engineers, and home health aides are projected to grow at the fastest rates.
Q: Based on these projections, what types of skill sets will be in demand and which ones will not? What types of training would you recommend people obtain and which ones should be avoided?
A: The rise of information technology and globalization has spurred the demand for more highly educated and skilled workers. Jobs throughout the workplace will require more technological know-how, as companies make better use of technology and the nature of many jobs change. The importance of education and training and life long learning cannot be overstated as jobs for the highly skilled worker will increase much faster than those for the minimally skilled. Employers today are having difficulty finding qualified workers and have expressed some dissatisfaction with the problem solving skills and analytical abilities of job applicants. Any training that can enhance these skill sets as well as good oral and written communication skills is a plus. People need to do their homework and make sure that training is relevant to perceived future demand.
Q: What industries and/or occupations are projected to lose the most jobs and why?
A: The manufacturing industry will continue its long-term decline but at a more moderate pace, as automation and globalization continue to impact the industry. Fierce foreign competition and projected output declines in many nondurable manufacturing industries should result in large rates of job loss in apparel, textile, and leather manufacturing. Office, factory, and retail automation should lead to job losses in such occupations as stock clerks, secretaries, file clerks, cashiers, and sewing machine operators.
Q: Finally, what exciting things are happening today or will be happening in the near future in the job market in Massachusetts?
A: Research in new and emerging technologies such as biotechnology, nanotechnology and marine sciences is beginning to translate into new products, which will ultimately help generate more demand for new employees.
Thank you very much, Mr. Winer, for giving us these insights on the economic situation in Massachusetts.
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