What's Up With the Massachusetts Labor Market?

For the past year and nine months, we’ve been tracking economic trends through the COVID Community Data Lab. After a sharp drop into recession in the spring of 2020, Massachusetts has seen a quick recovery. However, in many ways, there is still a long way to go. One reason why the unemployment rate has declined is that, as of December 2021, 56,900 workers have left the labor market altogether, meaning they no longer count toward the official unemployment rate. People have left the workforce due to factors like ongoing public health concerns, the need to care for children out of school, a declining willingness to return to low-quality service jobs, and early retirements. Additionally, despite aggregate declines, unemployment rates remain higher for Black and Latinx residents. This analysis presents a quick summary of where we are coming out of 2021 and then offers a discussion of some likely causes of our ongoing economic challenges.