Worcester Business Journal

Business leaders don't see bigger raises in 2015 Know HTML5? If not, we can get you up to speed 25 Digital Diva talks about the ongoing drive toward uniformity in web development. Can paychecks keep pace with U.S. economic growth? WBJ >> To Subscribe Q&A with John Heald of Heald & Chiampa Funeral Home, Shrewsbury Shop Talk 8 Central Massachusetts' Source for Business News January 19, 2015 Volume 26 Number 2 www.wbjournal.com $2.00 With sale, Higgins site prepares for second life Awards W o r ce s t e r B us i n e s s J o u r n a l 2015 B E S T O F B U S I N E S S Awards W o r ce s t e r B us i n e s s J ou r n a l 2015 B E S T O F B U S I N E S S Awards W o r ce s t e r B us i n e s s J ou r n a 2015 B E S T O F B U S I N E S S W o r ce s t e r B us i n e s s J o u r n a l Who are the winners in our second Best of Business Awards contest? Find out starting on Page 12 1,600 2,500 900 53.4% $83,580 1,190,600 1,771,400 580,000 48.8% $19,910 875,100 1,299,300 424,200 48.5% $20,820 28,900 42,400 13,500 46.7% $39,170 63,600 92,900 29,300 46.1% $45,430 Number of workers Change, 2012-2022 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Five fastest-growing U.S. occupations from 2012 to 2022 Scott Spaulding, home care aide and field coordinator at Family Services of Central Massachusetts, and Laurel Blair, program director, said a state wage hike for home care workers was a welcome development for employees of the agency in December. It's somewhat counterintuitive, then, that this segment of the labor market draws some of the lowest wages of any occupations — in many cases, not much above minimum wage. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median hourly wage for a Massachusetts home health worker was $12.66 in May 2013, while that of personal care aides, whose tasks often overlap with those of BY EMILY MICUCCI Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer H ome health and personal care workers are hot commodities as demand for their services grows with an aging population. In fact, there aren't enough of them to keep pace with the need for home care. >> Continued on Page 10 As demand rises for home-based patient care, labor costs could limit the supply of workers who can provide it Does home care pay enough? Median annual wage, 2012 P H O T O / E M I L Y M I C U C C I 24 2022 2012 (projected) Number Percent W hen the Higgins Armory Museum closed on New Year's Eve 2013, Worcester was left wondering whether the unique, art deco building would have a new owner who would find a new use for the building, or if it would sit vacant for years. The city received its answer rela- tively quickly in December, when the building was sold to New Hampshire developer Brian Thibeault for $850,000. He's entertaining a wide range of plans as he looks for potential tenants and what the neighborhood would like to see. "We are going to work with every- body," he said. "We want to keep the building and make it better." The six-story, 42,000-square-foot facility brings with it approximately five acres of developable land, he said. With that much space and an exhibi- tion hall crafted in a medieval style with 30-foot-high vaulted ceilings, (which had previously been rented out as event space) the location could also find appeal as a hotel. BY SAM BONACCI Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer >> Continued on Page 11 The numbers of personal care aides and home health aides are expected to grow by nearly half between 2012 and 2022. But their median annual wages in 2012 were the lowest of the five fastest- growing occupations in the United States. HEALTH CARE HOME Industrial-organizational psychologists Personal care aides Home health aides Insulation workers, mechanical Interpreters and translators

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