New England us the twenty-first century approaches: No time for complacency

New England has undergone significant change in its employment and labor fo rce over the past three decades. Employment in the region has shifted from manufacturing into services at a faster rate than it has in the United Stat es as a whole. Within manufacturing the trend has been away from nondurable goods into high-value-added, high-tech industries. In this transition, bot h income and productivity have increased more rapidly in the region than in the nation. Recent trends in population, labor force, and college degrees awarded pose threats to New England's long-term prosperity, however. Growth in the regio n's high-tech sector has lagged the nation's in recent years. Slow labor fo rce growth has contributed to low unemployment rates, but it has also limit ed the pool of available workers. The region has also lost share in produci ng college graduates. The authors highlight both the opportunities and the challenges facing the region as the twenty-first century approaches.