The high-tech industry in metropolitan Boston contributes mightily toward New England's prosperity in the good years, but its troubles have hurt the region during this recession.
Layoffs in this industry have driven office vacancy rates to 18 percent in and around Boston. Office construction is dead in downtown Boston, and the area lost over 20,000 manufacturing jobs between June 2001 and June 2002.
While residential construction remains strong, the office market will not recover until 2004, according to Grubb & Ellis Research. Don't expect any immediate improvement in New England's industrial market either. According to the Federal Reserve's Beige Book, some makers of high-tech and aerospace products have so much excess capacity that they don't plan to increase capital spending until 2004.
ELECTRICAL WHOLESALERS' SALES
(in millions of dollars) EW Estimates | | Final 1998 | Final 1999 | Final 2000 | Final 2001 | Forecast 2002 | Forecast 2003 |
---|
New England | 4,158.2 | 4,348.9 | 4,575.8 | 4,250.1 | 4,023.6 | 4,189.5 |
Connecticut | 1,592.8 | 1,680.6 | 1,768.3 | 1,642.4 | 1,554.9 | 1,619.0 |
Maine | 155.0 | 159.9 | 168.3 | 156.3 | 148.0 | 154.1 |
Massachusetts | 1,948.1 | 1,998.3 | 2,102.6 | 1,953.0 | 1,848.9 | 1,925.1 |
New Hampshire | 204.0 | 247.8 | 260.7 | 242.1 | 229.2 | 238.7 |
Rhode Island | 128.5 | 132.5 | 139.5 | 129.5 | 122.6 | 127.7 |
Vermont | 129.7 | 129.7 | 136.5 | 126.7 | 120.0 | 124.9 |
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICSActual EC | in thousands | | | M | F/S/RT | G |
---|
New England | 40,500 | 937.7 | 4,201.2 | 982.2 |
Connecticut | 9,187 | 242.4 | 975.5 | 247.6 |
Bridgeport PMSA | 847 | 34.8 | 104.0 | 21.6 |
Danbury PMSA | 503 | 17.7 | 49.0 | 11.7 |
Hartford MSA | 2,789 | 86.2 | 345.9 | 97.4 |
New Haven-Meriden PMSA | 1,398 | 36.2 | 152.8 | 35.4 |
New London-Norwich MSA | 507 | 22.8 | 69.2 | 40.6 |
Stamford-Norwalk PMSA | 797 | 22.8 | 138.7 | 18.8 |
Waterbury PMSA | 478 | 16.2 | 46.4 | 12.9 |
Maine | 2,277 | 76.7 | 358.6 | 104.7 |
Lewiston-Auburn MSA | 328 | 6.6 | 27.0 | 5.5 |
Portland MSA | 806 | 13.3 | 101.1 | 18.8 |
Massachusetts | 22,003 | 405.2 | 2,042.3 | 429.9 |
Barnstable-Yarmouth MSA | 427 | 2.6 | 51.3 | 9.1 |
Boston PMSA | 7,252 | 202.2 | 1,317.7 | 241.4 |
Brockton PMSA | 471 | 10.8 | 54.8 | 18.1 |
Fitchburg-Leominster PMSA | 188 | 11.1 | 26.7 | 9.0 |
Lawrence PMSA | 634 | 33.7 | 89.5 | 20.7 |
Lowell PMSA | 608 | 27.4 | 64.0 | 16.2 |
New Bedford PMSA | 256 | 12.3 | 34.3 | 11.1 |
Pittsfield MSA | 180 | 6.3 | 27.5 | 5.7 |
Springfield MSA | 1,156 | 34.5 | 151.3 | 50.6 |
Worcester PMSA | 804 | 35.3 | 138.8 | 34.7 |
New Hampshire | 3,059 | 100.0 | 364.9 | 85.0 |
Manchester PMSA | 591 | 12.4 | 63.4 | 12.0 |
Nashua PMSA | 401 | 27.2 | 53.2 | 9.9 |
Portsmouth-Rochester PMSA | 454 | 16.7 | 71.7 | 23.2 |
Rhode Island | 2,408 | 68.4 | 299.6 | 65.1 |
Providence-Fall River-Warwick MSA | 2,332 | 87.0 | 324.3 | 67.6 |
Vermont | 1,567 | 45.0 | 160.3 | 49.9 |
Barre-Montpelier | 166 | 3.9 | 18.1 | 8.7 |
Burlington MSA | 555 | 18.2 | 58.9 | 16.5 |
NA — Not available MSA — Metropolitan Statistical Area PMSA — Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area CMSA — Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area EC — Electrical contractor employees. Actual numbers. M — Manufacturing employees in thousands. F/S/RT — Commercial accounts (finance, services, retail trade) employees in thousands. G — Government employees in thousands. |