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| Mass. cost of living drives people away | Friday, December 23, 2005 - Updated: 12:20 AM EST |
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| Emelie Rutherford | Metrowest Daily News |
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While the U.S. population continues to grow, new Census data shows the Bay
lost residents for the second straight year, a trend observers says can't
be stemmed without more affordable housing and job training to improve
workers skills.
Only two other states -- New York and Rhode Island -- saw greater rates of population loss than Massachusetts between July 2004 and July 2005, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's annual state population estimates released yesterday. The Massachusetts decline is tied to an exodus of young professionals and a decrease in legal immigrants opting to settle here, said Michael Goodman, director of economic and public policy research at the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute. "This continues to be a major concern," Goodman said. "It's likely that many of these folks are leaving in search of greener economic pastures." The cost of living is just too high and job opportunities are too limited to attract volumes of people to Massachusetts, observers said. Nevada and Arizona saw the greatest rates of population increase this year, and the warm-weather South was the fastest-growing region, according to the Census data. Massachusetts’ loss of skilled workers is hurting its economy and hampering efforts to recover from the recent recession, MetroWest economic development professionals said. "Any time you’re losing your young workers...is a major concern and should be not only for state policy makers but also for regional employers and the general public as well," said Paul Matthews, executive director of the 495/MetroWest Corridor Partnership. Matthews said much more needs to be done to encourage building affordable housing. Steps have been taken, he said, such as the recent passage of a law for the state to help pay the public education costs of communities that build dense affordable housing. New multifamily developments will come online soon in MetroWest, including two projects in downtown Framingham and one in the Saxonville section of Framingham. "(Housing) is never going to be inexpensive (in MetroWest), but these will be more affordable," said MetroWest Chamber of Commerce President Ted Welte. Some policy makers argue that better job training would stem the tide of out-of-state migration. An array of work force development measures are expected to be included in an economic stimulus bill now being weighed by a conference committee in the State House. Such training is desperately needed for legal immigrants who are working low-skilled jobs and having harder times making ends meet, said Laura Medrano, executive director of MetroWest Latin American Center. "We need to train people, we need to teach them English, we need to teach them the skills," she said. Immigrants may be key to Massachusetts’ economy in the future. Massachusetts was the only state to lose population between July 2003 and July 2004, according to Census Bureau data released last year. Yet the state’s losses would have been greater if not for immigrants coming to the state, according to a report by the Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth. If Massachusetts’ population continues to decline it could face another thing Goodman fears: the loss of a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. |
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