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Economic Currents: The State Of The State Economy, Alan Clayton-Matthews

Public Policy and Public Affairs Faculty Publication Series

The current economic situation in Massachusetts, like the nation, is healthy. Employment, income, and output growth are strong, and inflation is low. Over the last 12 months ending in July 1997, non-agricultural payroll employment (referred to below as “employment”) grew 2.3 percent. At this rate, the peak employment of December 1988 will be surpassed by the end of this winter. The unemployment rate has been hovering at or below 4 percent for several months, a rate not experienced since 1989. Monthly initial unemployment insurance claims averaged 28,500 over the last 12 months, down from an average 31,400 a year earlier, …