MassBenchmarks Current Economic Index, was recently released by MassBenchmarks, the journal of the Massachusetts economy published by the UMass Donahue Institute in collaboration with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

The bottom line is very positive with our local growth projected to continue.

Some highlights:

• Massachusetts real gross domestic product grew 5.9% in the third quarter of 2017 (vs. nationally at 3.0%).
• The Commonwealth exhibited very strong employment and earnings growth during the third quarter.
• Payroll employment grew at a 2.1% annual rate in Massachusetts in the third quarter.
• Wage and salary income in Massachusetts grew at a very robust 10.5% annual rate (vs. 3.8% growth for the nation).
• Wage and salary income grew 5.8 percent year over year in the Bay State, significantly stronger than the estimated 2.7 percent growth for the nation.
• “Labor markets appear to be nearly back to full employment levels,” noted Alan Clayton-Matthews, MassBenchmarks Senior Contributing Editor and Associate Professor of Economics and Public Policy at Northeastern University.
• “Despite these low unemployment rates and anecdotes about a shortage of workers, employment growth continues unabated without clear signs of wage rate pressures. However, It may be that the rapid growth in wage and salary income in Massachusetts is signaling the beginning of an acceleration in wage rates, but it’s too early to tell.
• As measured by regular sales tax receipts and motor vehicle sales taxes, spending in the state has been surprisingly weak given strong income growth and the surging stock market.
• Spending on taxable items declined in the third quarter by 3.3%. Year over year, this spending grew by a relatively paltry 1.7% between the third quarter of 2016 and the third quarter of 2017.
• The MassBenchmarks Leading Economic Index shows that the state’s economy is expected to continue to grow at a moderately robust pace.

Being cautious is a prudent business characteristic these days, but the data still shows a healthy Massachusetts economy.