Massive Government Hiring Masks Economic Weakness

As lawmakers enter into the busy budget season, the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance is sounding the alarm after newly released employment data revealed a net loss of 24,800 private sector jobs over the last year, an economic red flag that is being hidden behind a surge in government hiring. To view the data, please click here.

According to the March jobs report from the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, the Commonwealth’s economy is in retreat where it matters most: the private sector. While Massachusetts shed nearly 25,000 private sector jobs since March 2024, the most significant employment growth came from an explosion in government hiring, with ten thousand new public sector jobs created at the state and local level, while federal employment in the state declined by 500 jobs.

“Massachusetts is hemorrhaging private sector jobs, and the Healey administration’s answer is to bloat the government at a time when our state’s fiscal wellbeing is in a very tenuous position. This isn’t job growth—it’s political insulation, and taxpayers are the ones footing the bill. As we head into the budget season, legislative leaders need to be worried that the state economy is shrinking, not expanding, and their budget needs to reflect this downward trend. Instead of new state programs and an increase to state spending, our legislative leaders need to cut state government to reflect what’s happening in the state,” said Paul Diego Craney, Executive Director for the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance.

The report shows that the administration is relying on government employment to prop up overall job numbers, concealing the fact that the businesses, entrepreneurs, and private sector employers that are the engines of economic productivity are shrinking under the weight of Healey’s policies.

“The Healey administration is growing the size of government while the private economy contracts. That’s not a strategy, it’s a crisis. You can’t tax and regulate your way to prosperity,” noted Craney.

“Beacon Hill leaders need to recognize the urgent need for policy change. Private sector employers are facing rising energy costs, burdensome mandates, and an unfriendly business climate. The state is doing serious long-term damage to its economic competitiveness. Every government job added without private sector growth is another step toward eventual fiscal ruin. Massachusetts needs a private sector comeback, not more bureaucrats on the state payroll,” closed Craney.