October 30, 2003 9:42 AM

Good news, bad news
Posted by Douglas Eisenhartat 9:42 AM

OK, the bad news first, a not-so-positive snapshot of the Massachusetts employment market:

Despite signs of an economic recovery, the state's job market remains exceedingly weak, with one in nine Massachusetts workers unemployed, underemployed, or no longer looking for work, according to the study by Northeastern University's Center for Labor Market Studies. The study paints a bleaker picture of the Massachusetts economy than the state's jobless rate, a historically modest 5.7 percent in September, would otherwise indicate.

Yeesh. Now for the good news, also from a piece in today's Globe on the growth rate in the nation's economy, the best since since 1984:

The economy grew at a scorching 7.2 percent annual rate in the third quarter in the strongest pace in nearly two decades. Consumers spent with abandon and businesses ramped up investment, compelling new evidence of an economic resurgence.

Obviously we're still seeing mixed signals, but we do appear to be headed in the right direction. We'll take the signs of hope.

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