Industry Employment and Wage Trends

• Between the second quarters of 2006 and 2007, the number of jobs in the Hampden County Workforce Area fell by -160 or -0.1%. During the same period, the Massachusetts economy gained 32,698 jobs, an increase of 1.0%.
• Three large sectors, Health Care and Social Assistance (17.4%), Manufacturing (11.8%), and Retail Trade (11.7%) comprise more than 40% of all jobs in Hampden County. Between the second quarters of 2006 and 2007, Health Care and Social Assistance was the major source of job growth, increasing by 880 jobs. Conversely, Manufacturing lost 456 jobs while Retail Trade was essentially unchanged (1%).
• Among the major sectors that experienced significant declines in Hampden County were Construction (-488) and Professional and Business Services (-349).
• Despite the job loss noted above, two important sectors did post job gains between the second quarters of 2006 and 2007. Specifically, Educational Services expanded by 244 jobs while Accommodation and Food Services increased by 237 jobs.
•  The 2006 annual average wage in Hampden County of $39,164 was below the statewide figure of $52,435 by $13,271. Among the key sectors whose annual average wages exceeded the overall average in Hampden County were Financial Activities ($66,396), Construction ($50,638), Manufacturing ($47,528), Professional and Business Services ($42,887), and Health Care and Social Assistance ($41,280).
• Two of the region’s largest sectors, Retail Trade ($24,540) and Leisure and Hospitality ($13,828), had wages that were considerably lower than the Hampden County annual average wage of $39,168. In addition, Transportation and Warehousing ($38,501) was just below the overall average for Hampden County.