4 2015 Economic Forecast www.wbjournal.com Worcester Business Journal
Table
of contents
Economic outlook survey ....................... 5
10 predictions for 2015 ......................... 9
A look back
at our 2014 predictions ........................ 10
Top 5 business stories
of 2014 ................................................. 11
Manufacturing & Technology ............... 13
5 things to watch in 2015 ......................... 13
Energy .................................................. 17
5 things to watch in 2015 ........................ 17
Real Estate ............................................ 21
5 things to watch in 2015 ........................ 21
Health Care ........................................... 25
5 things to watch in 2015 ........................ 26
Education ............................................. 29
5 things to watch in 2015 ......................... 30
Banking & Finance ................................ 33
5 things to watch in 2015 ......................... 34
A
t the end of the year — any year — many
people take stock of where they've been and
where they want to go over the next 12
months. That's only natural, in part because
the holidays provide enough time for reflec-
tion and resolutions. Eat better? Check. Read
more? Sure. Get to the gym more often? Absolutely! (Although
in some cases, that won't last beyond mid-January.)
Many businesses, if they're prudent, get a jump on plan-
ning, usually early in the fourth quarter because of all the
detail that becomes part of a broader strategy. We kept that in
the back of our minds when we launched our annual
Economic Forecast survey last month. We figure that with
planning for 2015 well underway, the survey results would
offer us a peek — at least at a 35,000-foot view — into what
business leaders' thoughts are about the year ahead.
Well, the numbers led us to this conclusion: "If you thought
2014 was a good year, 2015 will be even better."
There were noteworthy victories for the economy in
Central Massachusetts, as well as the broader state economy,
in 2014. Topping the list of good news was the August
announcement by GE Healthcare Life Sciences that it will
move its headquarters to Marlborough, which will mean hundreds of jobs and a marquee name for the
region in a growing industry. (See our roundup of the top stories of 2014, starting on Page 11.) Meanwhile,
the state's job market improved with employment gains and a falling jobless rate.
So, what does that mean for the year ahead? Here's what our survey, conducted between late November
and early December, yielded:
• More than three-quarters of respondents say business conditions are better today than they were a year
ago, when just 63 percent felt that way about 2013.
• Forty-four percent plan to hire more people, the only year in the last five in which more respondents
said they would hire than not hire. (Thirty percent said they don't plan to hire in 2015.)
• More than three-quarters — 77 percent — expect a jump in profits over 2014, up slightly from 73
percent last year.
As we do every year for this special issue, we also offer our 10 predictions for the year ahead, as well as
a report card on our prognostications for 2014.
And in each of the six sections within this issue — Manufacturing & Technology, Energy, Real Estate,
Health Care, Education, and Banking & Finance — we offer "5 Things to Watch" in 2015.
From all of us at the Worcester Business Journal, we hope you find the 2015 Economic Forecast issue a
useful tool as you reflect and look ahead. Please let us know what you'd like to see in this issue in years to
come by emailing us at editorial@wbjournal.com.
~ Rick Saia, Editor
The forecast? Sunnier than
2014 (which wasn't bad)
2015
Editor, Rick Saia, rsaia@wbjournal.com
Web Editor/Columnist
Christina H. Davis, cdavis@wbjournal.com
Staff Writers
Sam Bonacci,
sbonacci@wbjournal.com
(Banking & Finance, Real Estate,
Manufacturing, Technology)
Emily Micucci, emicucci@wbjournal.com
(Education, Health Care, Retail, Law, Hospitality)
Staff Writer/Copy Editor
Carol McDonald, cmcdonald@wbjournal.com
Contributors
Susan Shalhoub, sshalhoub@wbjournal.com
Livia Gershon
Research Director, Roger Magnus
rmagnus@nebusinessmedia.com
Research Assistant, Heide Martin
hmartin@wbjournal.com
Art Director, Kira Beaudoin
kbeaudoin@wbjournal.com
Graphic Designer, Mitchell Hayes
mhayes@wbjournal.com
Manager of Video/Multimedia Services,
Matthew Volpini
mvolpini@nebusinessmedia.com
Director, Major Accounts
Bonnie Leroux, bleroux@wbjournal.com
Senior Accounts Manager
Matt Majikas, mmajikas@wbjournal.com
Custom Publishing Project Manager
Christine Juetten, cjuetten@wbjournal.com
Marketing & Events Manager
Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com
Sales Admin & Account Coordinator
Susan Munyon, smunyon@wbjournal.com
Controller, Mary Rogers
mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com
Accounting Assistant, Valerie Clark
vclark@nebusinessmedia.com
Collections Manager, Raki Zwiebel
rzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com
Human Resources, Debbie Amorelli
damorelli@nebusinessmedia.com
Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton
pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com
Associate Publisher, Mark Murray
mmurray@wbjournal.com
Group Publisher, Joseph Zwiebel
jzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com
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