Massachusetts

Massachusetts is located in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is one of the original thirteen colonies and is home to Plymouth, the second permanent English settlement in North America. As with many early states, agriculture initially held a prominent position in the Massachusetts economy. The focus eventually shifted to manufacturing as Massachusetts became a world leader in textile production and machine tools during the Industrial Revolution. The past few decades have seen a shift in workers from manufacturing to service industries. Today, services produce four-fifths of the gross state product, with prominent industries including higher education, healthcare, and technology. These industries are bolstered by a relatively high proportion of professionally trained workers such as engineers, scientists, doctors, educators, and technicians.