1) Gap and GapKids closed their locations at the Atrium Mall, the latest retailers to depart the shopping destination on Route 9 in Newton: "Borders Books & Music, Williams-Sonoma, Abercrombie & Fitch, and luxury jewelry store Tiffany & Co. have already exited in quick succession. Jeweler Ross-Simons and J.Crew, which opened one of its first shops nationwide at the Atrium, are also planning to move out in the coming months." [Globe]
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2) Stats emerged on the number of construction jobs gained and lost recently in Massachusetts: "[T]he estimated 2011 yearly average of 107,200 construction jobs marks only 900 more jobs than 2010, and an overall 25,400 decrease from 2008, according to the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development." [Herald]
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3) Stats also emerged on what Massachusetts households spend on housing. It ain't pretty: "More than 231,000 Massachusetts households, or 24 percent of working families, suffered from a “severe housing cost burden’’ of spending more than 50 percent of their income on housing in 2010, up from 22 percent in 2009, according to the [Center for Housing Policy], which based its analysis on recent census data." [Globe]