Massachusetts - Profile and Business Opportunities

Jan. 9, 2011 - PRLog -- While the unemployment rate fell to 9.4%, the lowest in a year and a half. It’s hard to celebrate a drop in the jobless rate that’s due, in part, to a decline in the number of people in the labor force. The participation rate fell to its lowest level of this recession. For adult men, the participation rate fell to a record-low 73.6%.

Separate reports on the nation's job market showed increased hiring by companies last month and fewer layoffs, painting a picture of a strengthening employment recovery at the end of 2010. The private sector created 297,000 jobs from November to December, according a report from ADP that was the highest number the payroll firm has ever reported.

Manufacturing saw a gain of 23,000 jobs while construction was unchanged. Large businesses saw the fewest gains, with 36,000 jobs, while medium-sized businesses, with between 50 and 499 workers, created 144,000 positions.

One dynamic star on the U.S. business scene is The ACFN ATM Franchise Business, headquartered in San Jose, California, where the company was ranked by the Business Journal as the 43rd Fastest Growing Private Company in Silicon Valley for 2007 - 2009.

Entrepreneur Magazine's Franchise 500 listing for 2010 ranks ACFN, the only ATM franchise business in the US, #1 in category "Miscellaneous Financial Services".

ACFN the innovative ATM Franchise Business based in Silicon Valley, is North Americas only ATM franchise focused on providing ATM services to hotels and other travel and entertainment based businesses

“ACFN is a U.S. company with operations in all 50 States and Canada, however by utilizing our franchise business model we maintain the operating efficiencies of a local company”, says Jeff Kerr, Founder and President of ACFN.

“ ACFN's ATM franchise equips you with the tools and the know how to manage the business". Avi Blankroth, Excecutive Vice President of ACFN says. "The process begins with each franchisee purchasing ATMs, while ACFN locates and contracts lucrative placement locations"

The United States Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that Massachusetts' gross state product in 2008 was US$365 billion. The per capita personal income in 2008 was $50,735, making it the third highest state in the nation.

13 Fortune 500 companies are located in the commonwealth, the largest of which is Liberty Mutual Insurance Group. Sectors vital to the Massachusetts economy include higher education, biotechnology, finance, health care, and tourism. Route 128 was a major center for the development of minicomputers and electronics.

High technology remains an important sector, though few of the largest technology companies are based there. In recent years tourism has played an ever-important role in the state's economy, with Boston and Cape Cod being the leading destinations. Other popular tourist destinations include Salem, Plymouth and the Berkshires.

As of 2005, there were 7,700 farms in Massachusetts encompassing a total of 520,000 acres (2,100 km2), averaging 68 acres (0.28 km2) apiece. Almost 2,300 of Massachusetts' 6,100 farms grossed under $2,500 in 2007. Particular agricultural products of note include tobacco, livestock, and fruits, tree nuts, and berries, for which the state is nationally ranked 11th, 17th, and 16th, respectively. Massachusetts is the second largest cranberry producing state in the union, after Wisconsin.

Cape Cod Bay, a leading tourist destination in Massachusetts. Tourism is of growing importance to the state's economy.

Massachusetts' overall state and local tax burden ranks 23rd highest in the United States.[Massachusetts has a flat-rate personal income tax of 5.3%, with an exemption for income below a threshold that varies from year to year. The corporate income tax rate is 8.8%, and the capital gains tax rate was 12%. The state imposes a 6.25% sales tax on retail sales of tangible personal property—except for groceries, clothing (up to $175.00), and periodicals. The sales tax is charged on clothing that costs more than $175.00. All real and tangible personal property located within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is taxable unless specifically exempted by statute. Property taxes in the state were the eighth highest in the nation. There is no inheritance tax and limited Massachusetts estate tax related to federal estate tax collection.

Massachusetts had an estimated 2009 population of 6,593,587. As of 2000, Massachusetts was estimated to be the third most densely populated U.S. state, with 809.8 per square mile, behind New Jersey and Rhode Island. Massachusetts in 2004 included 919,771 foreign-born residents. Most Bay Staters live within the Boston Metropolitan Area, also known as Greater Boston. Eastern Massachusetts is more urban than Western Massachusetts, which is primarily rural, save for the cities of Springfield, Chicopee, and Northampton, which serve as centers of population density in the Pioneer Valley of the Connecticut River.

Like the rest of the northeastern United States, the population of Massachusetts has continued to grow in the past few decades, although at a slower pace than states in the South or West.

The latest census estimates show that the commonwealth's population grew by 3.9% since 2000, compared with nearly 10% nationwide. Although many residents are leaving the state, foreign immigration is making up for this loss, causing the population to continue to grow.

40% of foreign immigrants were from Central or South America, according to a 2005 Census Bureau study. The study also showed a 15.4% increase in immigrants living in Massachusetts households. Many areas of the commonwealth showed relatively stable population trends between 1990 and 2000. Exurban Boston and coastal areas grew the most rapidly, while Berkshire and Hampden counties both showed slight declines in the last census. The most commonly cited reasons for leaving the state include the high costs of living and better employment opportunities elsewhere. Another factor has been the transformation from a manufacturing economy to one based on high technology, leaving limited employment options for lower-skilled workers, particularly males.

As of April 2010, the state's unemployment rate was 9.2%.

Through all of 2010, the nation added 1.1 million jobs, or an average of 94,000 jobs a month.

Economists expect hiring will ramp up this year, with some predicting double last year's total of jobs or more. A tax cut package that goes into effect this month should boost consumer and business spending.

In Massachusetts, job vacancies are up, and businesses are optimistic about hiring over the next several months, according to the business confidence survey of Associated Industries of Massachusetts, the state’s largest employers group. Staffing firms point to another sign that employment is likely to expand in the state: Companies are hiring more recruiters.

“It’s getting better slowly,’’ said Alan Clayton-Matthews, a Northeastern University economics professor, “but the end of 2011 will look a lot better than the end of last year.’’

About  ACFN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2DuNabUgNA



Find out how you can benefit from ACFN to help deliver return on investment, positive cash flow and improved revenue.

More information is available at:

http://www.acfnfranchised.com/

American Consumer Financial Network (ACFN)
111 W. St. John St
Sixth Floor
San Jose, CA 95113

Tel: 888-794-2236

# # #

ACFN is North Americas only ATM franchise focused on providing ATM services to hotels and other travel and entertainment based businesses. Providing ATM services since 1996, franchised in 2003 with 170 franchises, 1400 ATM Machines in the US and Canada.