The severe winter has not derailed Massachusetts’ strong economic expansion, according to a report released Tuesday by a group of local economists.
Many businesses, particularly restaurants, were hurt by the series of storms — including one that reduced Valentine’s Day dinner reservations, the report said. The storms, which shut down much of the region, also had a disproportionate impact on low-wage, hourly workers who don’t get paid when they don’t work.
But snow removal services, roofing contractors, and plumbers got a boost from record snowfall and weather-related damage, according to an analysis by the economists from local universities, businesses, and government agencies, including the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. The economists serve on the editorial board of MassBenchmarks, the University of Massachusetts’ economic journal.
“The board expects that the overall negative effects on the state economy will be relatively small and transient,” the economists said.
Forecasting firms have estimated the winter weather caused about $1 billion in losses, but Massachusetts produced more than $420 billion in goods and services in 2013, according to the US Commerce Department.
Last month, the Massachusetts unemployment rate fell below 5 percent — to 4.9 — for the first time since 2008, according to the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.
The state still faces several challenges to its continued prosperity, including a fragile transportation system of neglected roads, bridges, and transit systems, the report said. Long-term challenges include bottlenecked natural gas pipelines that have limited supplies and increased energy costs. In addition, economic growth will slow as the labor force shrinks with Baby Boomer retirements.
Megan Woolhouse can be reached at megan.woolhouse@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @megwoolhouse.