BUSINESS BRIEFS: Family Fest, Unemployment, Hydrogen, and More

Nothing fishy going on, just Goldfish Swim School, meeting and greeting at the Family Fest and Home Show on Saturday.

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The chamber serves the communities of Bellingham, Franklin, Holliston, Hopedale, Hopkinton, Medway, Milford, Mendon, Millis, and Upton. More information is available at https://www.tricountychamberma.org

Family Fest & Home Show Packs `em In!

Despite a pelting rain, Saturday, March 23, from 10-2. the Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School, gymnasium was close to capacity with scores of vendors ranging from restaurants and entertainment services to educators, banks, contractors, energy saving services and more. Plus, there were Easter activities for kids, food (we tried Raillery’s mac `n cheese!) and lively conversations of all kinds. Families and individuals kept the action going at nearly every booth. This was the second year that the Tri-County Regional Chamber of Commerce organized the Family Fest & Home Show.

Unemployment down to 2.9%; Employment up by 6,300 jobs

The state’s February total unemployment rate was 2.9 percent, down 0.1 percentage point from the revised January estimate of 3.0 percent, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development announced Friday. The Massachusetts unemployment rate was 1 percentage point lower than the national rate of 3.9 percent reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Over-the-year, the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was down by 0.7 percentage points. The labor force decreased by an estimated 1,700 from the revised estimate of 3,750,200 in January, with 2,500 residents more employed and 4,200 fewer residents unemployed over-the-month. The state’s labor force participation rate – the total number of residents 16 or older who worked or were unemployed and actively sought work in the last four weeks – decreased 0.1 percentage point over-the-month, to 64.8 percent. Compared to February 2023, the labor force participation rate was down 0.3 percentage points.

Hydrogen Investments Pour into Mass.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced last week that five Massachusetts companies and one university would receive a total $99.5 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for projects expected to "help advance electrolysis technologies and improve manufacturing and recycling capabilities for clean hydrogen systems and components, directly supporting more than 1,500 new jobs." The most abundant element in the universe, hydrogen only occurs naturally on Earth in compounds with other elements (like water, which is two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen). And while hydrogen can be used as a fuel and a form of energy storage, more energy is used to isolate or produce hydrogen than that hydrogen can provide when used as a fuel, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. But when consumed in a fuel cell, hydrogen emits only water. Though it is primarily produced now by separating methane into hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide, Massachusetts energy officials have said it may become cost-effective to produce hydrogen by separating water into hydrogen and oxygen using electrolysis. When renewable energy, like that produced by offshore wind or solar installments, is used in the electrolysis process, the end result is often known as "green hydrogen."

Home Sales Flat, Price Up Ahead of Spring Market

What difference can a year make? When it comes to home sales in Massachusetts, the answer is about $50,000. There were 2,042 single-family homes sold in Massachusetts in February, the exact same number of sales as in February 2023. But analysts at The Warren Group said the median sale price last month reached a new all-time high for the month of February at $548,250, a 10 percent increase over February 2023's median sale price of $498,369. February's data added to what has been a familiar trend: monthly sales that are down or flat while the median sale price regularly sets new record highs. Cassidy Norton, associate publisher and media relations director for The Warren Group, said there's no reason to expect that dynamic to change in the near future as the spring homebuying season gets underway.