How can Massachusetts’ economy keep growing? It comes down to workers — and getting more of them

? Breaking overnight: Steward Health Care, a for-profit hospital chain, filed for bankruptcy. The company’s hospitals, including eight in Massachusetts, will remain open while it seeks to reorganize its finances.

Today: The Massachusetts economy got off to a decent start this year, but we need more workers amid an aging labor force and the loss of residents to other states.

Plus: How not to be a jerk on an airplane.

Trendlines is a twice-weekly newsletter by Boston Globe columnist Larry Edelman. Click the subscribe button to keep on top of business and the economy in the region and beyond.

From the top

Massachusetts has one of the oldest populations in the country. That means our state's economic growth will likely be hampered unless we can attract and retain more workers.

The numbers

• The state’s gross domestic product rose at a 1.8 percent annual rate in the first quarter, according to an analysis released on Monday by MassBenchmarks, a research collaboration between the UMass Donahue Institute and Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
• That was a tad better than the national GDP growth of 1.6 percent.

What's happening

The Federal Reserve has jacked up interest rates over the past two years to bring down inflation. Steep lending rates — currently at a two-decade high — typically cool the economy.

• Massachusetts GDP growth slowed from a 3 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter.

Local labor

The state’s workforce has gotten smaller since the start of the pandemic. That may be hindering the economy.

• In March, the number of jobs in the state was just shy of the February 2020 level, immediately before the pandemic hit. National employment is nearly 5 percent above the pre-COVID mark.
• Massachusetts is seeing more people move out of the state than move in, and a large percentage of those leaving are 26 to 54 years old, prime working age.

Final thought

If the labor force doesn’t expand, Massachusetts will have to rely heavily on productivity and income gains to propel growth.

“Eventually, the demographics are going to catch up with us,” said Alan Clayton-Matthews, senior contributing editor for MassBenchmarks.

In the first quarter, Massachusetts kept up with the rest of the country.

But being smarter and wealthier will get us only so far.

??? Trending

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Higher Education: Columbia University canceled its main commencement after protests that roiled campus for weeks.

Tech: Boston robotaxi startup Motional landed a $475 million investment from Hyundai.

?? The Closer

"Disembarking a plane in 2024 is as orderly as the streets of Pamplona during the running of the bulls," says Globe travel writer Christopher Muther.

Chris, who flies more in a year than many of us do in a lifetime, offers six rules of etiquette to make getting off the plan less stressful and more humane.

1. Don't jump up from your seat and crowd the aisle as soon as the plane's wheels hit the tarmac.
2. Don’t rush toward the exit ahead of others. (An exception is made for travelers with tight connections.)
3. Wait for the row ahead of you to clear.
4. Don't use your backpack or carry-on luggage to gain a competitive advantage.?
5. Don’t take out your phone and start shouting into it.
6. Be patient and smile.

Bottom line: Don't be a jerk.

Thanks for reading. I’ll be back on Thursday. The trend ?? is your friend.

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