FACT CHECK: Mass. Falls Behind On Private Sector Job Growth

A new analysis by the Pioneer Institute looks at private sector job growth—and finds Massachusetts is falling fast behind key competitor states like North Carolina, Florida, and Texas, and the rest of the country.

Pioneer finds Massachusetts was one of only four states to lose private sector employment since 2020 while the rest of the country saw the private sector grow. Massachusetts lost 0.74 percent of its private workforce (which represents roughly 24,000 jobs), only behind Vermont, Hawaii, and the District of Columbia. 

Let’s dive in to why this matters, and what other factors could be contributing to the Commonwealth’s job decline. 

Key Industries are Losing Workers

This isn’t due to some industry contractions while other key Massachusetts industries thrive. Pioneer finds the decline can be attributed to job losses in important sectors:

Even the professional and scientific services industry – which was initially growing in the years after the pandemic – has declined since September 2022—dropping roughly 3 percent (nearly 11,000 jobs) in the last couple years.

Key competitor states including Florida, Texas, and North Carolina all saw double-digit employment growth in just the last two years, following the recovery period from COVID-19.

Boston is Falling Behind Other Key Cities and Metro Areas

The Boston metropolitan area—a powerhouse in the state for many key industries—is also notably behind metros in other states. Pioneer analyzes North Carolina’s Research Triangle (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill) and Charlotte regions—which are similar to the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metropolitan area for their population, universities, and emerging finance and tech hubs. While the Research Triangle-Charlotte area grew by 11.2 percent since January 2020, the Boston metro area declined by 1.2 percent.

Additional analysis shows Boston has fallen behind other key metropolitan areas across the country since 2020:

• New Haven, CT grew 2.41%
• Arlington-Alexandria-Reston, VA grew 5.73%
• Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL grew 12.85%
• Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX grew 22.32%

Unemployment Rates Don’t Tell a Better Story

In our Opportunity Report Card, the Massachusetts workforce currently gets a C+ grade. That’s down a full letter grade (B+) from levels reported in March 2020.

Our Report Card calculates this by tracking unemployment—measuring how many people are looking for jobs and can’t find them.

The latest available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows Massachusetts unemployment is significantly higher than most of its “key competitor states” as well as New England neighbors:

• In March 2025, MA had an unemployment rate of 4.42 percent—higher than Florida (3.6 percent), Texas (4.06 percent), North Carolina (3.69 percent), New Hampshire (3.06 percent), Maine (3.47 percent).
  
• Massachusetts’ unemployment rate has worsened at a higher rate over the last 5 years than many of its competitors and neighbors: MA unemployment grew by roughly 40 percent since March 2020 (pre-Covid), while Florida fell by 9 percent, North Carolina fell by 7 percent, and Texas fell by 19 percent. Massachusetts’ unemployment rate growth nearly doubled that of neighboring New Hampshire. 

Concerns About Government Spending

Why is Massachusetts’ private sector employment decline—and tied unemployment spike—so troubling?

A contracting employment environment and sustained relative high unemployment rate could be contributing to Mass residents choosing to leave the state. If employment is contracting and residents are moving out, the state’s rising budget spending is unsustainable. 

The Governor’s own hiring freeze has also prompted The Boston Globe to call for reining in state spending.

Residents agree. In an April poll of Massachusetts residents, 82 percent said they are concerned about the state’s rising government spending.

Conclusion

Losing Massachusetts residents is already a concerning trend. Now, the state is seeing once-booming industries shed workers. That only means the workers left living here will be forced to shoulder more of the burden of the state’s ballooning spending – further exacerbating concerns about high cost of living and tax burdens. 

If the state does not find a way to alleviate these pressures, even more jobs will be lost, and Massachusetts will lose its position as leader in many industries – such as emerging tech, finance, and research – to key competitor states like North Carolina, Texas, and Florida.