Boston Overview

As one of the oldest US cities, Boston is rich in history and offers a range of career opportunities for its 1.5 million workers. The Boston job market is still facing postrecession employment ups and downs, yet should prosper over the long term due to its dominance in education and health services.

Boston Job Opportunities

With 35 colleges and universities within the city limits, including eight major research institutions, Boston is a renowned center for higher education. The educated population helps to fuel the rich medical, research and biotechnology community, which has weathered the recession better than the financial and technology sectors. Boston is home to some of the world’s top hospitals and leading professional organizations. In addition, Boston is strong in tourism due to its abundant history and four convention centers.

The education/health services sector employs nearly 25 percent of Boston-area residents. Employment in the professional/business services sector is a close second. The third-largest industry for jobs in Boston -- trade, transportation and utilities -- has been reporting the strongest year-over-year expansion, while financial activities, government and education/health services have reported employment declines.

Boston Employment Trends

Boston’s employment conditions are solid and improving, but with pockets of instability. The unemployment rate, which peaked at 8 percent in January 2010, had declined -- inconsistently -- to a relatively low 4.9 percent by May 2012. Online hiring has also improved, yet is still notably below prerecession levels.

Boston jobs are expected to increase 1.2 percent between Q2 2012 and Q2 2013, slightly lower than the 1.3 percent growth expected in the US job supply, Moody’s Analytics forecasts.