Bruins fans wore red, white and blue along with their black and gold on April 17 at TD Garden. (Getty Images)
The April 15 Boston Marathon bombings topped the list of forces deemed outside the control of people in Massachusetts that drove the state economy in 2013, according to list released Tuesday by a business trade group.
“From government shutdowns in Washington to the problematic adoption of federal health reform to a lingering recession in Europe, Massachusetts employers spent most of the year trying to manage things that were being done to them rather than charting their own paths,” Associated Industries of Massachusetts wrote on its business insider blog.
The other top business stories of 2013, according to AIM, were: 2. criticism prompts the state Legislature and Gov. Deval Patrick to repeal a tax on computer services; 3. Obama administration denies state’s request for limited waiver from provisions of the federal health care reform law; 4. state economy gives mixed signals with unemployment rising while the housing market and economic output improved; 5. federal budget impasses causes shutdown of federal government and threatens default on nation’s debt; 6. the Legislature and Gov. Patrick freeze unemployment insurance premiums for fifth straight year but fail to take up system reforms; 7. federal court vacates a National Labor Relations Board rule requiring employers to post a notice informing employees of their right to join a union; 8. former Gov. Paul Cellucci dies after battle with Lou Gehrig’s Disease; 9. Mass. employers struggle with shortage of skilled workers to fill high-value jobs; 10. shift of manufacturing to the United States accelerates.
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