Have news you or your group would like to share? Let us know by emailing it to info@worcester.ma. Be sure to include a link to the full release on your site or Facebook page so we can include it and send Sun members your way.
Worcester’s low-income renters bear heavy burden
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When it comes to rent affordability, Worcester as a whole is a fairly ordinary American city. But, also like other American cities, Worcester has some problematic trends in its rental markets.
Sina-cism: At a minimum, think about the economics of wages
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“Would you like an increase in pay? Sure you would. Even minimum-wage workers in Massachusetts earning the state’s $11 per hour rate would likely answer the same way. More money, after all, can’t be bad. Except when it is.”
Climbing business confidence hits 17-year index peak
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AIM’s Business Confidence Index rose by one point to 63.5 last month, capping the year off by reaching the index’s highest level since November 2000. Through 2017, the index gained 3.2 points and employer confidence levels remained “comfortably within the optimistic range,” Associated Industries of Massachusetts said.
Worcester’s wage winners
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While the finance industry has seen more wage growth than most, postsecondary education requirements for jobs is not a finance-only phenomenon. Eighty-eight percent of the 6 million new jobs the U.S. economy created between 2007 and 2016 required a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Health insurance tax on tap for Mass. employers
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The new year brings with it mixed financial news for Massachusetts employers, with $200 million in new healthcare assessments and unemployment insurance rate relief both taking effect.
Editorial: New Year for the Worcester renaissance
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Worcester has come far the last 25 years, preparing itself for the future. While developers continue those big-ticket improvements, let’s add feet to the equation. We urge folks to get out and enjoy this city more. People going out and about inspire the street-level, human-scale practicalities that help a place come alive.
Sun Spots with Hitch [Vol. 228]: New Year, same old Beacon Hill
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Here we are at the end of a volatile, divisive, often confounding 2017, and wouldn’t you know it? More compensation consternation.
Minimum wage hikes have minimal effect on teen jobs, report says
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Researchers from the left-leaning MassBudget said that “the most carefully designed studies” have found “little to no effect” on teen employment from minimum wage increases — like the increase to $15 an hour by 2022 that activists are hoping will be on the 2018 ballot.
STEM education vital to fill millions of job openings by 2024
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STEM employment growth is double that of other jobs, and 93 out of 100 STEM careers had wages above the national average. IT expert Monica Eaton-Cardone calls for expanded STEM education to improve career opportunities for women.
The Quad [Dec. 23-30]: Four things to know from UMass Medical School, QCC and Becker
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Have campus news you or your college or university organization would like to share? Let us know by emailing it to info@worcester.ma. Be sure to send a link to the full release on your site or Facebook page so we can include it and point Sun members your way.