Jobs & the Economy

Through recent work, state officials and leaders from the workforce training community have recognized the SNAP Employment & Training program as an important opportunity to help offset a portion of long-term funding cuts to workforce training in Massachusetts. This paper describes the SNAP E&T Program, which funds workforce training and related supports like transportation and childcare for people receiving training.

It’s possible for an economy to grow in ways that expand opportunity and promote broadly shared prosperity. We know that’s possible because it’s exactly what happened in the United States in the three decades after World War II. But in the mid-1970s the pattern changed – across America, in Massachusetts, and particularly in our Gateway cities. Typical household incomes grew very little, if at all, for most Gateway Cities over the past few decades. Looking at data in each of the state’s 26 “Gateway Cities,” how would life could be different today if median wages in those cities had grown at the same rate as the overall economy.

Most other industrialized countries and four U.S. states use insurance-style programs that replace a portion of workers’ wages to enable time off to address a serious personal or family health condition or to care for a new child. This fact sheet examines evidence on the impact of these programs on families and businesses in California, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and (starting in 2018) New York.

Estimates how many Massachusetts residents need and take a leave to cope with a serious illness, pregnancy or a new child. For instance, about 12 percent of Massachusetts workers take a medical or family leave annually, but about a quarter of them take a shorter leave than they need and a slightly larger number of workers who need leave do not take it.

Many Massachusetts workers, particularly lower-wage workers, are not able to take needed time away from work to address important family needs. While there are health-related and family leave policies that exist, the rules about who is covered, the allowable length of leaves, and how much they replace lost wages, if at all, create barriers that severely limit access. Sometimes a worker’s job does not allow leave, and sometimes a worker cannot afford to take unpaid leave. This brief explains existing health-related leave policies in Massachusetts and how they differ from paid family and medical leave.

The EITC improves the economic security of working families by increasing the after tax incomes of low and moderate wage workers. This factsheet explains how the tax credit works, describes how many families and individuals it helps in Massachusetts, and examines recent research on the long-term effects of the EITC on families and children.

On January 1st, 2016 the minimum wage will increase to $10 an hour. This is part of a scheduled set of increases that will bring the minimum wage up to $11 an hour in 2017. This factsheet provides information about who will benefit directly from this increase.

To help workers balance work and family obligations, three states have enacted Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) laws in recent years. This factsheet explains what PFML is, how it works, how it affects families and businesses, and how it relates to other policies like Earned Paid Sick Time.