Salaries in New England outstripped inflation slightly over the last year, from November to November, according to the latest New England Economic Conditions report issued earlier this week by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
The report also says New England unemployment is lower than most other regions, real estate costs continue to escalate, prices for fuels and utilities are decreasing, and employment levels for Rhode Island and Vermont remain below pre-pandemic levels.
Boston’s Federal Reserve Bank regularly issues New England economic conditions reports.
Most notable is the salary versus inflation levels, but while inflation decreases, salary increases are slowing.
“Nonfarm payroll employment in New England continued to grow in November 2023, although at a decelerating rate,” the report says. It says that employees in education and healthcare sectors saw the highest year-over-year increases of more than 3 percent. In previous reports, wage increases were as high as 4 and 5.3 percent.
Meanwhile, inflation for the Boston area was 2.4 percent from November 2022 to November 2022-2023.
Breaking down inflation, the Boston Fed says in Boston “shelter prices” rose 7.1 percent, food prices rose 5.3 percent, fuel and utility costs decreased 14.3 percent.
Some of the Boston Fed’s other significant findings:
- New England’s unemployment rate in November 2023 was the lowest of any region in the country. Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island had among the country’s lowest unemployment rates.
- There was a downward trend in job openings since 2022, “signaling a gradual cooling of demand for labor.” It also notes that most New England states saw more layoffs and discharges than the previous year.
- New England saw stronger growth in house prices than the rest of the nation, with 9.3 percent through the third quarter of 2023.
- Employment growth continued to decelerate across the nation, with the region posting a 1.5 percent increase in employment in November 2023, compared to 1.8 percent throughout the country. Within the region, only Rhode Island had negative year-to-year job growth (-0.2 percent).
- Leisure and hospitality employed in New England remains 5 percent below pre-pandemic levels, compared with a 1.2 percent deficit nationally.
