On August 19th, the state released the unemployment rate for July 2022 and the revised rate for June 2022. Click here to read the July 22nd state press release. Massachusetts' July rate decreased 0.2 of a percentage point from June to 3.5 percent, the same as the national rate for July. The MA labor force participation rate decreased 0.2 of a percentage point to 65.8 percent, though up 0.2 of a percentage point from the prior year. The labor force decreased by 7,500 from June. Since July 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates Massachusetts gained 134,500 jobs. The largest over the year gains occurred in Professional, Scientific, and Business Services; Leisure and Hospitality; and Education and Health Services. Click here to read the state press release. Local unemployment estimates for July were released on 8/23. The most recent local press release can be found here.

Economic Analysis

Here are a few recent articles and reports looking at the impact of the pandemic on the economy. Click below to read more:

• Pace of state economic growth remains weak in Q2, Benchmarks Bulletin, July 28, 2022
• Where Have All the Workers Gone? Recalls, Retirements, and Reallocations in the COVID Recovery, NBER, August 2022 (click here for the abstract)
• New data shows long-COVID is keeping as many as 4 million people out of work, Brookings Institute, August 24, 2022

Updates from D.C.

While Congress has been in recess over the past several weeks a lot has happened since MWA's July newsletter.

At the end of July, the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 passed the House and Senate and was signed by the President. A section by section summary of the legislation can be found here. This bill is designed to bolster the nation’s advanced manufacturing capacity in critical sectors of the economy related to the production of semiconductor chips. Earlier versions of the bill included new funding for workforce development and the expansion of Pell grants to short-term training programs. However, both were dropped from the final bill.

Soon after the passage of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, Senator Schumer (NY) announced that they had reached agreement on the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. A summary of this proposal can be found here. This legislation invests in domestic energy production and manufacturing, and aims to reduce carbon emissions by roughly 40% by 2030. The bill will also allow Medicare to negotiate for prescription drug prices and extend the expanded Affordable Care Act program for three years, through 2025. This legislation was passed on August 7th by the Senate and signed by the President on August 16th. You can view an impact sheet on  Massachusetts here.

Finally on July 28th, the Senate Appropriations Committee released its proposed annual FY23 Labor-HHS-ED funding bill. Overall, the Democratic proposal increases WIOA programs by $618M or 5.8% over FY22; Title I programs would increase by $196M 3.5%. The Senate proposal does not include $100M in allocations for the National Youth Employment Program, the Veterans Climate Training Program, and the Youth Climate Corps. A decrease of $46M or 8.4% in Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) funding was expected as TAA expired on on July 1st. AA reauthorization was proposed within the Bipartisan Innovation Act (CHIPS, USICA, COMPETES) but has since been removed, leaving the future of TAA uncertain.

MWA is following the conversation among the workforce development and related communities about how racism and white supremacy influence the field and practice of workforce development. We will continue to use this newsletter to share relevant tools, articles, webinars and resources to support the workforce development community.

• When Ubiquitous Higher Education Doesn't Mean Representative Higher Education, New England Board of Higher Education
• A New Look at College Affordability for Indigenous Students, Inside Higher Ed
• Nearly half of Black parents feel schools could do more to incorporate race into curricula, Education Next
• Birth Rates, College Affordability, Flying Low...and Other Indicators, New England Board of Higher Ed
• Request for Input: The Building Movement Project's National Race to Lead Survey of Non-Profit Professionals is Currently Live
• This is Community Podcast by Purpose Built Communities
• Black and Hispanic Employees Often Get Stuck at the Lowest Rung of the Workplace, Wall Street Journal

Join us! On September 13th at 12PM, MWA will be hosting a peer learning opportunity with MassHire Greater Brockton and MassHire North Shore Career Centers. Staff from these organizations will share their novel approaches to reaching customers where they are in the community, rather than waiting for them to come through their doors. Click here to register. For more information about the Brockton program, click here.

MassHire Springfield Career Center attracted nearly a hundred job seekers to its job fair this month. This job fair invited businesses with open positions that were specifically of interest to the job seekers in attendance. Thirteen employers participated and many made job offers on site! Click here to read local news coverage of the event.

There are so many job postings and funding announcements, we moved our News from Around the Sector section to our website, where you can access the news, jobs, funding announcements and more anytime throughout the month. Go to: www.massworkforce.com/around-the-sector.

Here is a sample of the funding opportunities, jobs, and more posted on our website:

• The ICA Group is hiring an Executive Director for the Fund for Jobs Worth Owning. Click here to learn more and apply.
• Jobs for the Future (JFF) is hiring an Associate Research Director. Click here to learn more and apply.
• The FY23 Skills Capital Grant Round 2 Technology & Equipment RFP was released earlier this month. Click here for the issuance and here for the CommBuys RFP link. A webinar for applicant guidance will be held September 15th.
• 10/3 Event (in person): Providers Council 47th Annual Convention and Expo
• 10/6 Event (in person): Future of Work Conversation with Regional Leaders, Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce
• The UMass Donahue Institute is holding a webinar series in Fall 2022 for new managers. Designed for those with limited experience in managing direct reports, these interactive webinars are focused on core skills that any manager should master to be effective in engaging, developing and retaining talent, and driving the performance of their team members. Designed to engage the participant and to stimulate dialogue amongst peers. Click here to learn more and apply.