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Worcester Business Journal www.wbjournal.com 2015 Economic Forecast 37 M assachusetts has the fastest grow- ing p opulation among Northeastern states, according to a report released last week that called that development "striking" and a con- tributing factor to a growing labor force, as well as optimism about the state's economic prospects. The MassBenchmarks report, sum- marizing the recent sentiments of area economists, attributed the growing pop- ulation and labor force to international immigration and a "lower level of domestic net out-migration than has been experienced in recent recoveries." MassBenchmarks co-editor Michael Goodman, director of the Public Policy Center at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, said that compared to previ- ous post-recession periods, fewer people have moved out of Massachusetts. There's been a simultaneous increase in international immigration. "It's definitely been a boost to our growth," Goodman said. "It's certainly a good sign." According to the population estimates program at the UMass Donahue Institute, Massachusetts is growing twice as fast as the Northeast region on aver- age, and faster than any other Northeast state, based on data for the year ending July 1, 2013. "While Massachusetts shows a rea- sonable rate of natural increase com- pared to other Northeastern states, it's total positive migration — specifically the large number of international immigrants offsetting a relatively small number of domestic out-migrants — explains why the state leads the region in growth," institute officials wrote in a summary of the most recently available population data. Among other reasons for optimism, experts noted that the growth in the state's economic output has "kept pace with strong national growth for the past two quarters." They also said consumers have more money and businesses face lower costs because of falling oil and gas prices. One MassBenchmarks editorial board member estimated that half a per- centage point might be added to the national economic growth rate this year because of lower oil prices. Wages rising 'modestly' Massachusetts software, information technology and staffing services sectors are "doing well," according to MassBenchmarks, while wages are rising "modestly" and the state is getting a lift from the national economic expansion marked by the addition of more than 300,000 jobs in October and upward revisions of job growth in August and September. Among the challenges economists identified were rising winter electricity prices, low levels of housing production, "squeezed" federal expenditures and "significantly constrained" state infra- structure spending in the wake of last month's repeal by voters of the 2013 law indexing the gasoline tax to inflation. After a "weak" first quarter, the Massachusetts economy is experiencing "solid economic growth," board mem- bers concluded. "While there continue to be serious concerns about the geographically and financially imbalanced nature of this recovery, the MassBenchmarks Editorial Board is as optimistic as it has been in some time and expects the state's eco- nomic expansion to continue for the foreseeable future," according to MassBenchmarks, which is published by the Donahue Institute with help from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. The report contrasts with House Speaker Robert DeLeo's assessment last week, when he told reporters the state faces "difficult fiscal times." Gov. Deval Patrick last month cut about $200 million from this year's $36.5 billion annual budget and asked legisla- tive leaders to approve additional bud- get-balancing measures. The budget calls for a 5.6 percent increase in spending, and DeLeo said he'll wait until after Governor-elect Charlie Baker takes office Jan. 8 to tackle the budget gap that remains after Patrick's unilateral cuts. House Ways and Means Chairman Brian Dempsey said earlier this month he was eyeing a corporate tax amnesty program to generate revenues and offset the need for additional spending cuts to close the remainder of the $329 million budget gap Patrick identified after the November election. Asked about corporate tax amnesty, DeLeo said, "We're looking at anything and everything. Anything that can help us get through these difficult fiscal times and hopefully allow us to save some programs." n 2015 Still dealing with a resource-draining open MA DEP site? 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