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 2007 and 2008, the unemployment rate for the Pioneer Valley remained relatively stable, with a slight increase from 5.0% to 5.7 percent.  This trend remained consistent for each of the three counties of the Pioneer Valley.  Hampden County saw the largest increase in unemployment from 5.6% to 6.4% while Hampshire (3.8% to 4.3%) and Franklin (4.2% to 4.9%) counties experienced slightly smaller increases.

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

Indicator Trend Percent Change Rating 0.7%

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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 2007 to 2008, decreasing very slightly from 284,544 to 284,466 (less than a 0.1% change).  Trends varied slightly in each of the counties.  Hampden County experienced virtually no change at all (a decrease of 0.1%), while Hampshire County increased by 0.3%, and Franklin County had a decrease of 0.2 percent.

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

Indicator Trend Percent Change Rating 0.0%

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Average Weekly 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 weekly wage earned by workers in the Pioneer Valley increased by 3.8% from $759 in 2007 to $788 in 2008.  For each of the three counties, the average weekly wage also increased.  Hampshire County had the highest percent increase of 4.5%, while Hampden County increased by 4.0% and Franklin County increased by 1.0 percent.

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

Indicator Trend Percent Change Rating 3.8%

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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 $8,876,417,218 in 2007 to $9,220,469,502 in 2008, a change of 3.9 percent.  Hampshire and Hampden counties also experienced positive trends. Hampshire County had the largest increase (4.8%) and Hampden County saw an increase of 4.1%, while Franklin County remained stable with an increase of 0.2 percent.

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

Indicator Trend Percent Change Rating 3.9%

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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 increased 2.7% from 20,478 in 2007 to 21,031 in 2008.  While the number of establishments in Franklin County decreased by 1.1%, both Hampden and Hampshire counties saw an increase in their number of businesses (2.2% and 6.4% respectively).

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

Indicator Trend Percent Change Rating 2.7%

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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 total number of establishments. 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 4.5% in 2007 to 4.4% in 2008.   

The trend varied some throughout the region, though manufacturing remained relatively stable throughout all three county areas.  While Hampden and Hampshire counties saw slight decreases (0.2% and 0.1 % respectively), Franklin County had a slight increase (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 -0.1%

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