The Massachusetts economy is sizzling. Unemployment has declined for seven consecutive years.
Business confidence is positive.
Inc. magazine has declared Massachusetts the East Coast leader for hosting the fastest-growing companies. Venture capitalists love Massachusetts, investing one-seventh of the nation's VC financing in Bay State companies during the third quarter of 1998. In an effort to gauge the economic outlook for 1999, a panel of experts peered into the future at a BHI forum for approximately 100 people gathered at the Newton Marriott Hotel in December. Blending optimism with caution, the group pointed to the state's strengths, the triumphs of its policies, and the importance of innovation to making it in Massachusetts. As a package this bodes well for Massachusetts in 1999, a slowdown notwithstanding.