#2022-18 August 19, 2022

Talks Continue on Omnibus Economic Development Bill

As the House and Senate’s overtime talks around tax relief and economic development continue, Senate President Karen Spilka (D- Ashland) suggested earlier this week that Governor Charlie Baker might end up being the one to put forward a bill to provide funding for things like housing, hospitals and electric vehicle policies.

As previously reported, the Legislature ended its formal sessions for the year on August 1 without coming to agreement on a compromise version of a $4 billion economic development package that was to include $1 billion in tax rebates as well as Association-backed measures such as much-needed estate tax reforms and additional support for homeowners dealing with crumbling foundations.  The bills,    H 5034 / S 3030,  are still pending before a six-person, House-Senate conference committee.

As negotiations continue, money to address significant needs in Massachusetts remain hung up.  Asked how the Legislature might deal with the funding it wanted to allocate through the economic development bill for things like housing, hospitals and electric vehicle infrastructure, President Spilka believes that step could ultimately fall to Governor Baker, who has the power to file a “money” bill where the Senate does not, in the form of a supplemental budget or otherwise.

Warren Group: Home Sales Slow as Prices Continue to Soar

On Tuesday, the Warren Group reported that sky-high prices and rising mortgage rates have put a bit of a chill on the Massachusetts housing market this summer.

According to their report, 5,266 single-family homes sold in Massachusetts in July, a 17.4 percent slowdown from July 2021.  At the same time, the median sale price shot up 8.3 percent year-over-year to $585,000 – a new all-time high for the month of July.  Year-to-date, the 29,819 single-family home sales in Massachusetts represents an 11.8 percent decrease from the first seven months of 2021 and the year-to-date median price is up 9 percent to $553,000.

Massachusetts Job Gains Continue With 13,500 Added in July

Massachusetts employers added 13,500 jobs last month and the statewide unemployment rate dropped by two-tenths of a percentage point to 3.5 percent for July, according to the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development report released on Friday.

The private sectors that saw the largest job gains in July were professional and business services (5,550 jobs), education and health services (5,200 jobs), and “other services” (1,400 jobs).  But government took the cake with the addition of 12,800 jobs last month, officials said.  Citing federal Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the state said June’s jobs gain was revised upward from 3,400 positions to 5,800.

The leisure and hospitality sector lost 12,300 jobs last month; the trade, transportation and utilities sector shed 1,200 jobs; and the construction industry lost 600 jobs, EOLWD said Friday.

State officials said there are now 3,680,100 people employed in Massachusetts, with 134,500 jobs gained between July 2021 and July 2022.  There were also 130,900 people unemployed last month, for a total labor force of 3,765,600 or 65.8 percent of the working age population.  That’s down, the state said, by an estimated 7,500 people from 3,773,100 in June.  The labor force is the number of employed residents and residents who are not working but have actively sought work in the last four weeks.