On January 20th, the state released the unemployment rate for December 2022 and the revised rate for November 2022. Click here to read the January 20th state press release. Massachusetts' December rate declined 0.1 of a percentage point from November to 3.3 percent, 0.2 of a percentage point lower than the national rate for November. The MA labor force participation rate dropped by 0.2 of a percentage point, to  65.1 percent, down 0.4 of a percentage point from the prior year. The labor force decreased by 7,500 from November. Since the beginning of the pandemic (April 2020), Massachusetts has gained 681,900 jobs. The largest over the year gains occurred in Leisure and Hospitality; Education and Health Services; and Professional, Scientific, and Business Services. Click here to read the state press release. Local unemployment estimates for December were released on 1/24. The most recent local press release can be found here.

Preliminary January 2023 and revised 2022 unemployment rate, labor force, and job estimates will be released on March 10th.

Economic Analysis

The UMass Amherst Donahue Institute and Federal Reserve Bank of Boston released the fourth quarter MassBenchmarks Benchmark Bulletin, showing Massachusetts' GDP increased 3.1 percent annualized, while U.S. GDP increased at 2.9 percent. To read more, click here.

The Boston Globe recently published an article, "These Six Charts Show We've Never Seen a Mass Job Market Quite Like this One." Click here to read this helpful summary of the current labor market. (There may be a paywall to access this article.)

On January 19th, UMDI and the New England Economic Partnership held an event, "Housing, Place, and Flexible Work: The Future of the New England Economy." Economists and local leaders explored the question: How will hybrid work, rising housing costs, and an aging workforce impact New England’s economy? Click here to view the recording and here to view a summary.

The Massachusetts Legislature held its annual revenue hearing on January 24th. The Commissioner of Revenue, several economists, and other local experts testified before the new Secretary of Administration and Finance and the Chairs of Ways and Means. All agreed that it was unlikely that the robust tax collections of the past year would continue going forward. Despite that, estimates for FY24 ranged between $38B and $42B. There were also discussions about how to handle the first year of revenue from the new high-earner surtax that was approved at the ballot in November. Click here to read more, or here for Mass Taxpayers Foundation analysis. Yesterday, the Administration announced it had agreed upon a revenue consensus figure of $40.41B, with an additional $1B in revenue from the new high-earner surtax that can be put towards education or transportation. This FY24 consensus figure represents a 1.6% growth over the latest FY23 estimate, or a 4.1% growth when adding in the projected revenue of the surtax.

Updates From D.C.

Earlier this month House Republicans passed the 118th House Rules Package, which includes many of the concessions Speaker McCarthy made to conservative Republicans to win the Speakership. Separate and apart from concessions regarding the rules, McCarthy made promises including leadership positions, committee assignments, and spending cuts to FY22 levels. See here for a summary prepared by the National Association of Workforce Boards on how the rule changes could impact workforce development policy.

We now know that the Chair of the House Education and Workforce Committee will be Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC). You can read her statement on becoming Chair of the Committee here. Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL) has been named the Chair of the House Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations Subcommittee (workforce development funding is determined in this subcommittee).

DOL Updates

• DOL requests comment on Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessments (RESEA) program implementation study.
• DOL Employment and Training Administration requests information on sector strategies that meet critical workforce needs across industries. See here.
• U.S. DOT releases $1.7B funding opportunity for Low-No and Bus Facilities Programs with 5% of funds required for workforce development. See here.
• DOL Employment and Training Administration's most up to date advisories (TENs, TEGLs, UIPLs) can be found here.

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.

• ACE-UP (Advancing Community Equity and Upward Mobility) Participants Announced, Corporation for a Skilled Workforce
• Procurement with Purpose: Improving Job Quality and Equity through Public Procurement Reform, Aspen Institute
• Ascends New Family Futures Fund focusings on Black and Native Student Parent Success, Aspen Institute
• Trading Glass Ceilings for Glass Cliffs: A Race to Lead Report on Nonprofit Executives of Color, Race to Lead
• Results for America Job Quality Playbook

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 events, funding opportunities, jobs, and more posted on our website:

• Job Opportunity: Eversource is hiring a Supervisor Equity, Strategic Partnerships, and Workforce Development. Click here to learn more and apply.
• Job Opportunity: Commonwealth Corporation is hiring for many positions, including Vice President of Youth and Social Justice Pathways. Click here to learn more and apply.
• Job Opportunity: The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center is hiring a Senior Program Manager for its Workforce Equity Programs and a Program Manager for Workforce Equity Outreach. Click here to learn more and apply.
• Funding Opportunity: Commonwealth Corporation has re-released the rolling RFP for Senator Kenneth J. Donnelly Workforce Success Grants (a.k.a. Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund grants) with changes to eligibility requirements, max funding amount, and ability to include job quality consideration. Click here for more information. 
• Funding Opportunity: The Mass Broadband Institute has issued the RFP for the Municipal Digital Equity Planning Program. Click here to learn more and apply.