Massachusetts Historic Mill Cities Struggle For Job Growth

"The municipalities -- dubbed 'gateway cities' -- are at risk of falling further behind Boston, according to the MassINC report, as they struggle to attract high-tech and other innovative industries because of shortages of trained workers, limited transportation systems, and patchy broadband access."

"According to the report, the share of the state's technology firms located in Greater Boston increased from 53 to 60 percent between 1991 and 2004, while the share of these companies located in the gateway cities, so-called in part because of their large immigrant population, declined from 8 to 6 percent in the same period. Meanwhile, manufacturing jobs have continued to disappear, leaving the total number of private-sector jobs in the gateway cities at their 1960s levels."

"The 11 cities studied -- Brockton, Fall River, Fitchburg, Haverhill, Holyoke, Lawrence, Lowell, New Bedford, Pittsfield, Springfield, and Worcester -- are home to 30 percent of all state residents living below the poverty line, even though they account for just 15 percent of the population."