The good news: the population of Massachusetts has become better educated over the last 30 years.
More good news: As it became the nation’s best-educated workforce, the population of Massachusetts saw average wages and income rise significantly. Today, Massachusetts is one of highest-income states in the nation.
Even more good news: As a likely result of having a highly educated workforce, Massachusetts appears to have weathered the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression better than most of the nation.
All that good news comes from a report released earlier this month by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. The State of Working Massachusetts 2010 examines the state’s rise since 1979 from the middle of the pack nationally in terms of wages and incomes to a sixth-place ranking (behind Maryland, New Jersey, Connecticut, Alaska and Hawaii) in median household income. It concludes that education, among other “longer-term trends and characteristics,” helped Massachusetts avoid the steep rise in unemployment and poverty experienced by most of the nation.
Since 1979, the report shows, the number of Massachusetts workers with a four-year college degree has increased by 95 percent; 43 percent of the state workforce has a college degree, greater than in any other state in the nation.
The Massachusetts median household income in 2009 was $64,081, about $14,000 greater than the national average.
While the unemployment rate in Massachusetts remained below the national average, very high levels of unemployment exist among workers with limited education, the report shows. The unemployment rate for workers without high school diplomas rose above 17 percent, more than three times the rate (4.6 percent) for workers with at least a bachelor’s degree.
“Massachusetts has a very well-educated workforce and a high-wage economy. Having a higher percentage of college graduates in our workforce than any other state is a great strength to build on—but not a cause for complacency,” said Noah Berger, President of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. “The national economy is still very weak, many families are struggling, and, even in good times, lower-income workers have not seen much wage growth. Building on our strengths, the challenge ahead is to expand real economic opportunity to people who start at any income level.”
