Mass. firms decry lack of workers

Strange things happen when you don't let supply meet demand.The declining state of Massachusetts'corporations can't find workers.You wonder why?

maintaining a healthy labor force, could prove to be among the greatest economic challenges for the state. Among the impediments: the state's high living costs, particularly housing, which economists say make it harder for workers to stay.

''If all of a sudden Boston became the center of a new industry, like the mini-computer industry of 25 years ago, where would the workers come from and where would they live?" said Ross Gittell, a University of New Hampshire professor and a forecaster for the New England Economic Partnership, a nonprofit group. ''It's having the available skilled labor during economic expansions that allow you to sustain long-term growth."

Great moments in Blue state America.Boston Globe