Republican: Pioneer Valley feeling the impact of federal cuts, especially to defense
An article in the Republican looking at the potential impact of ‘sequestration’ on the economy of the Pioneer Valley, quoted UMDI’s Economic and Public Policy Research group director Dan Hodge and UMass economics professor and MassBenchmarks executive editor Robert Nakosteen.
With the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan coming to an end, Pioneer Valley manufacturers who rely upon defense industry contracts have already seen a decline in business. According to Nakosteen, the budget cuts that will be triggered by sequestration could cost the state 40,000 to 50,000 jobs and impact defense contractors, including giants like Raytheon, federally funded research universities like the University of Massachusetts, and research hospitals. "That might not sound like a lot in a state with 3 million working people,” Nakosteen said. “But that’s about as many jobs as we created last year. It’s a whole years worth of job creation in a sluggish economy.”
Read article: Pioneer Valley feeling the impact of federal cuts, especially to defense
February 18, 2013
