MassBenchmarks: Mass. economy still expands despite growing concerns

IN ITS MOST RECENT VOLUME, MassBenchmarks identified national and international economic warning signs that have the potential to bring about an economic slowdown in Massachusetts.
IN ITS MOST RECENT VOLUME, MassBenchmarks identified national and international economic warning signs that have the potential to bring about an economic slowdown in Massachusetts.

PROVIDENCE – In the most recent volume of the MassBenchmarks economic journal, Mark Melnik and Robert Nakosteen identified growing challenges and warning signs for the Massachusetts economy.

The journal is published by the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute in cooperation with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

The report notes that while economic growth continued in Massachusetts, there are rising warning signs that potentially foreshadow an oncoming economic slip.

The report cites changing national immigration policies and tariffs as having potential to slow the state’s growth. The report also notes that shifting international economic landscapes could impact the Massachusetts economy. In particular, the report cites the effort to increase domestic buying in China as a risk as well as the slowing growth in Europe tied in part to Brexit.

- Advertisement -

The report also found that the Boston area is limited by extremely high home prices, which leads workers who want to own a home to either move to a suburb and endure the increasingly difficult commute or choose to leave the state. The report noted that state net domestic migration has been negative for a long time – barring a short period after the Great Recession.

It also warned that slowdown in labor force growth could be detrimental to the state.

The report said that the median price of a home in Massachusetts was 80% higher than in other states. It also found that since 2000, rents have risen 24%, while renters’ income has declined 3%. An increase in the housing stock has not alleviated pricing pressure.

The report concluded by saying that while the Massachusetts economy continues expansion “some of the wind may have left the [national] economy’s sails.”

It found that the most pressing issues for the state to contend with were the labor force and housing prices.

“The next 12 to 18 months will prove telling for the state economy,” according to the report.

No posts to display