Like the rest of the country, Massachusetts experienced a significant decline in immigration from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025, spotlighting the significant role that foreign-born workers play in the state’s economy.
Demographics
Posted inOpinion
My energy efficiency efforts were frustrated by Mass Save
THERE’S A BROAD consensus in Massachusetts, affirmed by state law and policy, to accelerate the adoption of clean energy technologies as an important way to advance our climate and energy […]
Posted inEconomy
Low birth rates, slow immigration harms state workforce
ALMOST EVERY INDUSTRY, from hospitals to restaurants, is struggling to hire in Massachusetts. And while some of this may be due to COVID-related factors that will eventually diminish, a new […]
Posted inNews Analysis
Share of White residents shrinking across Mass.
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE 2020 DECENNIAL US Census painted a portrait of a diversifying Massachusetts, and those changes stretched far beyond the state’s burgeoning urban centers to touch nearly […]
Posted inOpinion
Shecession means the jig is up
WOMEN ENDED 2020 with 5.4 million fewer jobs than they had in February 2020, prior to the start of the pandemic. December unemployment figures showed that employers cut 140,000 jobs in December […]
Posted inEducation
Worcester officials fed up with Charter/Spectrum
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN internet service is a barrier to remote learning? And what happens when resolving the internet access problem is in the hands of a private company, which holds a […]
Posted inThe Download
Worcester officials fed up with Charter/Spectrum
What happens when internet service is a barrier to remote learning? And what happens when resolving the internet access problem is in the hands of a private company, which holds […]
Posted inHealth Care
Surprising racial twist in COVID-19 data
A SURPRISING RACIAL and ethnic dynamic appears to be emerging in the coronavirus data gathered by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Hispanic and black people are suffering from COVID-19 […]
Posted inEducation
Kid-free Boston
THERE WAS A TIME when couples from the suburbs might hire a babysitter or drop their children at the grandparents in order to splurge on a weekend in Boston. Now, […]
Posted inEconomy
Women underrepresented at Mass. business groups
A SURVEY OF THE TOP OFFICIALS and board members at 25 prominent business advocacy organizations in Massachusetts indicates women and people of color are under-represented. Women make up 51.5 percent […]
Posted inOpinion
Aging in place is not the way to go
MOST OF US can expect to live longer than ever before. This longevity bonus gives us more time to build the society we want, and we must start by considering […]
Posted inHealth Care
Family caregivers deserve support
CARING FOR AN OLDER ADULT in your life is a complicated matter—at once daunting and rewarding. In the old days (and still today in certain cultures), it was less complicated. […]
Posted inPolitics
Diversity data gaps
EVERY YEAR, THE governor’s Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity publishes a detailed report on the diversity of the workforce at each of the executive branch secretariats, now numbering nine. […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion, Politics
Bridging the urban-rural divide in Mass.
EVAN HOROWITZ AND JAMES PINDELL of the Boston Globe remarked in a November 14 article that “the Trump effect” occurred in Massachusetts as well: while Greater Boston voted more Democratic […]
Posted inOpinion
New poverty numbers are misleading
NEW CENSUS NUMBERS released last month saw incomes rise by 5 percent nationally and the poverty rate dropping to 13.5 percent from 14.8. The news made major headlines. Many are celebrating. And […]
Posted inEducation
Bump sees physical education inequality
STATE AUDITOR SUZANNE BUMP says a 2014 audit her office conducted of the state’s child obesity programs turned up income correlations that are strikingly similar to what CommonWealth uncovered in […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service
Massachusetts seeing population growth
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE POPULATION OF MASSACHUSETTS is growing at a rate about three times more rapid than surrounding states, a good sign for the state’s economy and its […]
Posted inOpinion, The Download
Play like a girl
The United States won the Women’s World Cup and many are predicting the game of soccer in this country will get a boost as well. But there was also one […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Getting from racist to racism
Is it racist that President Obama used the n-word in making a point about race relations in this country? Have many of the same people who are chastising America’s first […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
Education programs needed for prostate cancer
TOO MANY MEN are still trying to run away but they cannot hide from prostate cancer. I was one of those men—until a diagnosis of prostate cancer in 2008 brought […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Boston’s African American leaders
PHOTOJOURNALIST DON WEST teamed up with former Boston Globe national editor Ken Cooper on Portraits of Purpose: A Tribute to Leadership to document the careers of Boston-area African American leaders […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Boston’s young adult challenge
The challenges facing young people in Greater Boston were laid out today, though not in a single story but rather in several. The Globe has a front-page feature on the […]
Posted inPolitics
Baker’s demographic dilemma
Charlie Baker’s first run at the governor’s office was marked by an enormous 24-point loss among women. Since Baker’s 2010 loss, strong showings with women provided Massachusetts Democrats with decisive […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Embrace our differences, but eliminate inequality
Our cherished local accent – known as the Boston accent, really more a northern New England accent – was put on display recently by MassDOT marketing officials who brought attention […]