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 2006 and 2007, the unemployment rate for the Pioneer Valley remained relatively stable, with a slight decrease from 5.4% to 5.0 percent.  This trend remained consistent for each of the three counties of the Pioneer Valley. The unemployment rate for this slight decrease was experienced across all three county areas with Hampden County seeing the largest decrease from 6.1% to 5.6%, while Hampshire (4.2% to 3.8%) and Franklin (4.4% to 4.2%) counties experienced slightly smaller decreases.

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

Indicator Trend Percent Change Rating -0.4%

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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 2006 to 2007, decreasing very slightly from 284,740 to 284,544 (a change of -0.1 percent).  Trends varied in each of the counties.  Hampden County experienced virtually no change at all, while Hampshire County increased by 1.2%, and Franklin County had a decrease of 0.7 percent.

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

Indicator Trend Percent Change Rating -0.1%

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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 from $730 in 2006 to $759 in 2007.  For each of the three counties, the average wage increased.  Franklin County had the highest percent increase of 6.5%, while both Hampden and Hampshire counties had increases between 3 and 4 percent.

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

Indicator Trend Percent Change Rating 4.0%

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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 $8,558,054,091 in 2006 to $8,876,417,218 in 2007, a change of 3.7 percent.  All three counties experienced positive trends. Hampden County had the largest increase (5.7%), Franklin County saw a increase of 3.6%, Hampshire County saw the least amount of growth (3.3 percent).

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

Indicator Trend Percent Change Rating 3.7%

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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 0.1% from 20,503 in 2006 to 20,478 in 2007.  While the number of establishments in Franklin County decreased by 1.2%, both Hampden and Hampshire counties saw an increase in their number of businesses (1.1% and 0.7% respectively).

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

Indicator Trend Percent Change Rating -0.1%

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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 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 4.6% in 2006 to 4.5% in 2007.   

The trend varied some throughout the region, though manufacturing remained relatively stable throughout all three county areas.  While Hampden County saw no change, Hampshire County had a slight decrease (-0.2%), and Franklin County saw a slight increase (0.1 percent).

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

Indicator Trend Percent Change Rating -0.1%

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