Strengthen & Expand the Region's Economic Base

Annual Unemployment Rate

Description:

The annual unemployment rate is calculated as the percent of all people in the labor force who are not currently employed.  Between 2005 and 2006, the unemployment rate for the Pioneer Valley remained relatively stable, with a slight increase from 5.2% to 5.4 percent.  This trend was consistent in each of the three counties of the Pioneer Valley. Hampden County saw the largest increase in the unemployment rate (0.3%), followed by Hampshire County (0.2%), and Franklin County (0.1 percent).

Data Source: Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development’s Labor Force and Unemployment Data

Indicator Trend Percent Change Rating 0.2%

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Total Number of Jobs

Description:

The total number of jobs includes all types of company ownership and all industries, as derived from reports filed by all employers subject to unemployment compensation laws, both state and federal.  The number of jobs in the Pioneer Valley stayed very consistent from 2005 to 2006, increasing very slightly from 283,191 to 284,093, a change of 0.3 percent.  Trends in each of the counties were consistent with the region.  Hampden County had the smallest increase (0.2%), while Hampshire County experienced a 0.4% increase, and Franklin County had a slightly larger increase of 0.8 percent.

Data Source: Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development’s Employment and Wage (ES-202) data

Indicator Trend Percent Change Rating 0.3%

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Average Wage Earned by Workers

Description:

The average wage earned by workers includes employees in all types of company ownership and all industries, as derived from reports filed by all employers subject to unemployment compensation laws, both state and federal.  The average wage earned by workers in the Pioneer Valley increased 2.9% from $710 in 2005 to $730 in 2006.  For each of the three counties, the average wage increased.  Hampden County had the highest percent increase of 3.6%, while Franklin County increased by 2.8%, and Hampshire County increased 1.7 percent.

Data Source: Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development’s Employment and Wage (ES-202) data

Indicator Trend Percent Change Rating 2.9%

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Growth of the Private Sector Payroll 

Description:

The private sector payroll includes the total of all wages paid from companies with private ownership for all industries, as derived from reports filed by all employers subject to unemployment compensation laws, both state and federal.  The private sector payroll for the Pioneer Valley grew from $8,266,640,018 in 2005 to $8,558,054,091 in 2006, a change of 3.5 percent.  Each of the three counties also had an increase in private sector payroll. Hampden County increased by 3.7%, Franklin County’s payrolls increased by 3.5%, and Hampshire County experienced the smallest increase (2.6 percent).

Data Source: Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development’s Employment and Wage (ES-202) data

Indicator Trend Percent Change Rating 3.5%

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Total Number of Business Establishments

Description:

The total number of business establishments includes businesses with all types of company ownership and all industries, as derived from reports filed by all employers subject to unemployment compensation laws, both state and federal.  In the Pioneer Valley, the total number of business establishments decreased by 0.2% from 20,356 in 2005 to 20,321 in 2006.  While the regional trend was a slight decrease, the counties were not as consistent with this development. The number of establishments in Hampden County decreased by 0.7%, however both Franklin and Hampshire counties saw an increase in their number of businesses (2.0% and 0.3% respectively).

Data Source: Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development’s Employment and Wage (ES-202) data

Indicator Trend Percent Change Rating -0.2%

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Manufacturing as a Percent of All Employment by Number of Establishments

Description:

This measure was calculated by dividing the total number of establishments in the manufacturing sector by the number of establishments in all industries. These numbers include companies with all types of ownership, as derived from reports filed by all employers subject to unemployment compensation laws, both state and federal. Overall, manufacturing remained fairly stable as a percentage of all establishments in the Pioneer Valley, decreasing from 4.8% in 2005 to 4.6% in 2006.  The trend varied some throughout the region.  While Hampshire and Franklin Counties both saw a slight decrease (0.3% and 0.4% respectively), Hampden County experienced a slight increase of 0.3 percent.

Data Source: Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development’s Employment and Wage (ES-202) data

Indicator Trend Percent Change Rating -0.2%

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