Metro Economic Outlook: Boston - SHRM Online

Metro Economic Outlook: Boston

With a sturdy foundation of education and health care, and a jobless rate that's frequently below the national average, Boston's economy has been on solid ground for quite some time. However, more work needs to be done to sustain the recent growth.

"There are three pillars we look at,"said Carolyn Ryan, VP of research and data analytics at the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. "First is transportation, because we need to do a better job of getting people to work and on time. Second is workforce development, in order to meet the needs of our employers, and third is the housing issue. Boston has very high prices, and it makes `getting in the game' very challenging for many residents."

Unemployment rate

12

10

8

6

4.6

4 2.4

2

0 U.S.

Boston Metro

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (November 2016)

BOSTON METRO: VITAL STATS

Total working age population: 2,960,588 out of a total population of 4,774,321

Number of households: 1,782,655

Consumer price index: 261.675 (goods and services that cost $100 in 1982-1984 cost $261.68 in November 2016)

Percentage of local residents with bachelor's degrees: 25.2

With graduate or professional degrees: 20.8

Workers in STEM industries: 39 per 1,000 residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (2015), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (November 2016), American Institute for Economic Research (2015)

Aside from the education and health care sectors, other economic drivers for the Boston metro region ? which spans five counties in Massachusetts and two counties in New Hampshire ? include financial services and tourism.

The life sciences industry also has a significant local presence. Boston-based entities have received nearly $29 billion in funds from the National Institutes of Health since 1992, according to a report from the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

In order to identify more job opportunities for students at the 80-plus college and universities in the region, the Internship Collaborative ? a joint effort of the Boston chamber and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston ? created , a free website designed as a centralized platform to match college students with internships available at local employers.

Last updated on 1/1/2017 Unemployment and most CPI data updated monthly. Other data updated once annually as it becomes available.

"As far as the labor force, there's more of a focus on retaining the recent college graduate and millennials," Ryan said, "as well as fostering the innovation sector and entrepreneurial sector. People identify them as key areas for growth."

Labor force makeup

Government Other services Leisure and hospitality Education and health services Professional and business services Financial activities

Information Trade, transportation and utilities

Manufacturing Mining, logging and construction

Total nonfarm

307.1 100.6

237.4 558

445.4 183.7 77.1

417.3 189.4 102

2618

Some of the Fortune 500 members that

0

1,000

Number in thousands

2,000

3,000

call the Boston

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (January 2016)

region home are

financial interest

State Street, medical device company Boston Scientific,

at District Hall, a high-tech incubator facility for start-

and property and casualty insurer Liberty Mutual.

up companies.

Much of the City of Boston's recent development activity has focused on its waterfront. Drug manufacturer Vertex Pharmaceuticals opened a new 1.1 million-square-foot headquarters complex there in 2014. Several local entrepreneurs have also set up shop

Working age categories

292,058, 10%

344,989, 12%

330,757, 11%

The latest large-scale development in the waterfront

region, called One Seaport Square, broke ground in

November 2014. It will include two towers with a

total of 250,000 square feet of retail space on the

lower levels and 832 luxury apartments. The project is

expected to be finished in 2017 and

is part of a broader 23-acre

redevelopment of that section of

Boston. It will be joined in 2018 by

General Electric, which will move its

headquarters from Connecticut to

20 to 24

Boston and bring 800 jobs.

688,946, 23%

25 to 34 702,894, 24% 35 to 44

45 to 54 55 to 59 60 to 64

Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2015)

600,944, 20%

"There's a lot working in our favor," Ryan said. "We're lucky in that we have higher education and medical institutions. We're educating people and we can keep them here. With professional services and biotech, they are typically well-paying jobs and that trickles down to the rest of our economy."

Last updated on 1/1/2017 2

Employee Benefits Data

Employers offering consumer-driven health plans

25%

20%

19%

21%

15%

10%

5%

0% U.S.

Boston Metro

Employers offering domestic partner benefits

70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10%

0%

50% U.S.

61% Boston Metro

Source: SHRM Health Care Benchmarking Database (2016)

Retirement

Employee 401(k) participation rate

80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10%

0%

66% U.S.

68% Boston Metro

Source: SHRM Retirement & Welfare Benefits Database (2016) Last updated on 1/1/2017

Employers in the Boston metro area are slightly more likely to offer consumer-driven health plans compared with the national level, by a margin of 2 percent.

They are somewhat more likely to offer domestic partner benefits, by an 11 percent margin above the national level.

The Boston metro area workforce's rate of employee 401(k) participation is slightly above the national level, by a margin of 2 percent.

3

Income and Turnover Data

Overall turnover rate

25%

20% 15%

19%

16%

10%

5%

0% U.S.

Boston Metro

Source: SHRM Human Capital Benchmarking Database (2016)

$90,000 $80,000 $70,000 $60,000 $50,000 $40,000 $30,000 $20,000 $10,000

$0

Median household income

$78,800 $56,516

U.S.

Boston Metro

Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2015)

$45,000 $40,000 $35,000 $30,000 $25,000 $20,000 $15,000 $10,000

$5,000 $0

Per capita income

$41,334

$29,979

U.S.

Boston Metro

Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2015)

Last updated on 1/1/2017

The Boston metro area's workforce has a lower turnover rate than the national level, by a margin of 3 percent.

Median household income in the Boston metro area is significantly higher than the national level, by more than $22,000 annually.

Per capita income in the Boston area is also much higher than the national level, by more than $11,000 annually.

4

Top Management Salaries Data

Median salaries, top management

Top legal executive Chief information officer

*Top HR executive Chief financial officer Chief executive officer

$0

$322,100 $322,100

$355,400 $280,500

$291,800 $232,500

$384,300 $348,600

$850,000 $650,000

$200,000 $400,000 $600,000 $800,000 $1,000,000 Boston Metro U.S.

Median salaries for top management level employees in the Boston area are typically on par or considerably above the national median.

*Without labor relations experience

Source: Willis Towers Watson Data Services 2016 Survey Report on Top Management Compensation

Project lead: Project contributors: External contributors: Copy editing:

Joseph Coombs, Senior Analyst, Workforce Trends, SHRM Shonna Waters, Ph.D., VP of Research Carolyn Ryan, Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Katya Scanlan, copy editor

This report is published by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). All content is for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as a guaranteed outcome. SHRM cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions or any liability resulting from the use or misuse of any such information.

? 2017 Society for Human Resource Management. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.

These materials and the data contained within them are copyrighted by SHRM, another copyright holder (where noted), or are government-owned. SHRM hereby grants permission for users to copy and use these materials and the data contained within them only if proper attribution is given to SHRM (or the noted copyright holder) as the source of the material.

For more information, please contact:

SHRM Research Department 1800 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA Phone: (703) 548-3440 Fax: (703) 535-6432 Email: SHRMResearch@ Web: research

Last updated on 1/1/2017 5

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download