Why is it Significant?
Indicator 1: Industry Sector Employment and Wages
Technology and knowledge-intensive industry sectors provide some of the highest paying jobs in Massachusetts. Increased employment concentration in these sectors also indicates a competitive advantage for Massachusetts and the potential for future economic growth as strength in these areas usually indicates innovation and business growth.
Indicator 2: Occupations and Wages
The Innovation Economy supports jobs with above average wages, thereby contributing to a higher standard of living in the Commonwealth. Changes in occupational employment and wages suggest shifts in job content and skill utilization. Generally, professional and technical employment has tripled as a percentage of the workforce in the last century, so anything but continued employment growth would indicate a shift away from the norm. An important difference between this indicator and the previous one is that Industry Sector Employment and Wages tracks total employment in an industry for all job types found within in it, while Occupations and Wages tracks employment by job type across all industries.
Median household income tracks changes in the general economic condition of middle-income households and is a good indicator of prosperity. Rising household incomes enable increased purchasing power and higher living standards. The distribution of income also provides an indication of which Massachusetts economic groups are benefiting.
Industry Output is an important measure of the value of the goods and services produced by each sector of the Innovation Economy. Output per employed worker is a measure of labor productivity, which is a key driver of wage growth within an economy. It can also be viewed as an indicator of business cycles and used as a tool for GDP and economic performance forecasts.
Indicator 5: Exports
Nearly all of Massachusetts’ top 25 exports are produced within the Innovation Economy. Manufacturing exports are an indicator of global competitiveness and selling into global markets can bolster growth in sales and employment. In addition, diversity in export markets and products can offset domestic economic downturns. Manufacturing represents approximately ten percent of all private sector jobs in the state and approximately 20% of manufacturing jobs in Massachusetts are tied to exports. In Massachusetts, 111,000 jobs are supported by manufacturing exports, compared to 6.2 million nationwide.