The following comes from the Boston Indicators 2/3/22 e-mail release of the research brief.
For almost two years, Boston Indicators has been tracking economic trends through the COVID Community Data Lab. After a sharp drop into recession in the spring of 2020, Massachusetts has seen a quick recovery. The state unemployment rate has fallen from a record 16 percent in April 2020 to 3.9 percent in December 2021, and we have regained more than 530,000 jobs. But there is still a long way to go. Many employers report having a hard time finding workers. And yet, unemployment remains high for Black and Latino workers.
Today’s new release, What’s up with the labor market in Massachusetts?, explores how these things can be true at the same time. This brief was written by Anne Calef of Boston Indicators, with support from MWA’s Associate Director, Raija Vaisanen, and SkillWorks’ Executive Director, Andre Green.