Massachusetts
People are leaving Massachusetts in droves. Who are they? – The Boston Globe
Particularly dire: Working-age adults are leaving in droves. On net, Massachusetts lost an average of 22,631 people age 25 to 44 across 2021 and 2022 — the largest number of any age group and a marked increase over previous years, according to the report. For perspective, that’s about the size of the population of Winchester.
That age group “would normally start making up more of the labor market as they grow older,” said Peter Ciurczak, the author of the Boston Indicators report. “But if we lose them, they’re not going to be able to.”
For a state with a rapidly aging population and a relatively low birth rate, this spells trouble, said Mark Melnik, the director of economic and public policy research at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Donahue Institute, which studies population trends.
“It’s not just that we’re losing people,” he said. “We’re losing people while our resident workforce is aging out of the primary working ages.”
To be sure, this problem is nothing new. “We’ve always been net losers on domestic outmigration,” Melnik said, adding that young people are a historically transient group.
And there are signs of stabilization: Though Massachusetts saw dramatic levels of net outmigration in 2021 and 2022, the state got back in the black in 2023. Massachusetts experienced a positive net migration of nearly 11,500 residents from July 1, 2022 to July 1, 2023, as international immigration numbers rebounded from pandemic-era lows.
In fact, Massachusetts received more immigrants between 2020 and 2023 than any other state as a percentage of overall population, according to a report released Thursday by the Pioneer Institute think tank. In 2023 about 51,000 net immigrants moved to Massachusetts, compared to the approximately 39,000 net domestic residents that departed the state “for greener pastures,” Pioneer said.
Even though domestic departures are nothing new, solving them is becoming more and more urgent for the labor market, as the state’s ”silver tsunami,” looms: By 2030, about 21 percent of Massachusetts residents will be 65 or older, up from just under 14 percent in 2010, according to projections by the Donahue Institute.
“While COVID stopped the world for two years, and we kind of just froze everything, the one thing that kept happening was we kept getting older,” Melnik said.
The question then becomes: Why are so many working-age people leaving, and how do we stanch the losses?
“It’s always hard to pin any one reason down,” Ciurczak said, “but certainly, housing seems to be a big one.”
Housing costs in Massachusetts, particularly in the Boston region, are among the highest in the country. This is a top-of-mind concern for young people; a recent survey by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Foundation found that among 20- to 30-year-olds in Greater Boston, the cost of rent and the ability to buy a home ranked among the most important factors in determining whether to stay or go.
And as the pandemic ushered in a work-from-anywhere world — particularly for college-educated knowledge workers — those with the means to move decided they would get more bang for their buck elsewhere.
“Or even just any bang, honestly,” Ciurczak said.
While the problems are well documented, what’s hazier are possible solutions. More housing production is a crucial piece of the puzzle, Melnik said, but Massachusetts needs an “all-in approach” to workforce development, such as targeted investments in the state’s Gateway Cities as well as groups that have lower labor force participation rates, such as people with disabilities, veterans, and people with criminal records.
“Realistically, there’s not going to be a new baby boom that’s going to solve this,” he said. “So in order to find the workers in the corners that you need to find them, it’s attraction and retention, it’s optimization of workers, and it’s creative solutions to make working easier.”
Dana Gerber can be reached at dana.gerber@globe.com. Follow her @danagerber6. Kirkland An can be reached at kirkland.an@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @kirkland_an
Massachusetts
Massachusetts AG Campbell accused of breaking professional conduct amid audit lawsuit
AG Andrea Campbell called Diana DiZoglio’s personal cell phone a day after an SJC justice moved the legislative audit legal case to the full court, a call that the auditor alleges violates the state’s professional conduct rules.
DiZoglio’s fight with Campbell is steaming ahead, even as the attorney general claims that there’s a “path forward” for the voter-approved audit of the state Legislature, over 15 months after 72% of the state signed off on the ballot measure.
DiZoglio’s office argues that Campbell’s attempt to call the auditor on her personal cell phone violates Rule 4.2 of the Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct, which prohibits lawyers from communicating directly about a case with an individual represented by another attorney without consent.
“The Attorney General is our state’s top law enforcement officer and should follow the Rules of Professional Conduct,” DiZoglio said in a statement on Wednesday. “I will not participate in dark, shadow conversations with the AG about this lawsuit.”
“That she is trying to get me to speak with her alone, via private cell phone, without my legal counsel present, is unacceptable,” the auditor added.
Campbell’s office is firing back at DiZoglio’s claim, which it says is a “false and baseless accusation.”
“If the Auditor is interested in a solution,” the office said in a statement shared with the Herald, “the AG is available to speak with her or the Auditor’s staff can speak with our office – but as it stands, her office refuses to engage with us directly on a path forward.”
DiZoglio and Campbell have been locked in a legal tug-of-war since voters approved the audit in November 2024.
Siding with legislative leadership, Campbell has claimed that DiZoglio has not answered basic questions on the scope of the legislative audit. The AG argues that the auditor’s review may also violate the state Constitution.
In February, DiZoglio sued House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka for refusing to comply with the audit. The auditor is asking the SJC to allow her to appoint an outside attorney, as Campbell is representing the top Beacon Hill Democrats.
DiZoglio spotlighted Campbell’s attempt to talk with her on her personal cell phone after the AG appeared on GBH’s Boston Public Radio on Wednesday. The auditor also released emails between the two offices regarding the call.
In her radio segment, Campbell admitted to calling the auditor after seeing her at a recent event in Worcester and that she had yet to hear back from DiZoglio. The AG said the message that she is trying to convey to the auditor is that “there’s a pathway forward.”
Speaking at an event on March 16, DiZoglio said, “I have only asked for financial receipts and state contracts. There is nothing unconstitutional about … getting access to that information.”
Campbell argues DiZoglio has “changed” her stance on the audit’s scope.
Deputy Auditor Michael Leung-Tat expressed his concerns about Campbell’s call to DiZoglio in an email on Monday to Assistant Attorney General Anne Sterman and First Assistant Attorney General Pat Moore.
Leung-Tat emphasized that the last time DiZoglio and Campbell spoke via phone was allegedly in November 2023, when the AG informed the auditor of her support of the legislative audit.
“They don’t have a relationship beyond our office’s official communications,” Leung-Tat wrote, “and, as you know, official business between our offices is conducted at the staff level. … it appears that the Attorney General was calling the Auditor about the pending litigation before the SJC.”
“As you are aware,” the deputy auditor added, “we have been engaged with your office seeking assistance in our efforts to audit the Legislature since 2023, so it is curious that the Attorney General only just now decided to call.
In an email reply, Moore said there was “nothing unethical” about Campbell’s call and that the AGO was “surprised to see” the auditor’s “unfounded assertion.”
“The Auditor has also used her time in those forums make false allegations against the Attorney General and officers of every other branch of state government, recently including judges,” Moore wrote. “Having now heard multiple variations of these comments, the Attorney General felt it appropriate to reach to talk with the Auditor.”
After multiple exchanges back and forth, Moore refuted Leung-Tat’s claims that DiZoglio has answered Campbell’s questions to help the legislative audit proceed. The first assistant AG added that the office “takes pride in our professionalism.”
“We do not, just to pick one example,” Moore wrote, “claim that every state agency funded by legislative appropriation is corrupt; nor that the courts adjudicating our cases are.”
“Nor do we take exception to conferring with those against whom we are litigating,” he added. “We do that every day.”
Massachusetts
Massachusetts faces World Cup-test with friendly match in Foxboro
(WJAR) — Massachusetts will get a taste of World Cup action in Foxboro on Thursday.
There is a friendly match between Brazil and France at Gillette Stadium.
It’s being considered a test ahead of World Cup matches in June.
Massachusetts governor Maura Healey says dozens of agencies are involved in making sure the 7 World Cup matches are safe and secure.
Thursday is a test for transportation for the World Cup.
The MBTA will have 4 trains going from South Station to Foxboro.
MassDOT expects heavy traffic to begin later this morning with new traffic patterns near Gillette for the match.
As for the teams, NBC 10 caught up with Team France at their practice.
Team France says it is excited to face off against one of the best teams in the world.
France is ranked 3rd worldwide while Brazil is ranked 5th.
Parking opens at noon while the game’s kickoff is at 4:00 p.m.
Massachusetts
Gov. Maura Healey says Massachusetts is ‘match ready’ for World Cup
Gov. Maura Healey spoke Wednesday about the public health and safety preparations it is making ahead of this summer’s World Cup matches in Massachusetts.
Gillette Stadium — to be called Boston Stadium — will be the site of seven matches between June 13 and July 9.
The state is carrying out planning and training with local, state and federal agencies on everything from transportation and crowd management to cybersecurity, public health, and emergency response.
“Residents and visitors alike can be confident that we are prepared to host a safe, secure and successful World Cup,” Healey said.
Healey said the state secured about $76 million in federal funding to pay for security and preparedness.
The state has more information about the World Cup at Match-Ready Massachusetts.
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Gillette will host a friendly Thursday between France and Brazil as a warm up to the World Cup.
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