14 States and D.C. Have Recovered Recession-Lost Jobs; Connecticut Hasn't Yet

While employment has steadily climbed since the nation’s economic recovery began, only a few states have seen job levels return to pre-recession numbers thus far, and Connecticut is not among them.  Last month marked the four-year anniversary of the end of the recession in June 2009, and updated U.S. Department of Labor estimates published within the week show the extent to which states are rebounding.

The U.S. has recovered 5.3 million jobs since job losses bottomed out, still about 2.2 million below pre-recession levels, Governing magazine reported. Only 14 states and the District of Columbia have fully recovered jobs dating back to 2008. Of those, only oil-rich Texas, North Dakota and Alaska recorded notable job growth exceeding a couple percentage points.  In Connecticut, net employment is down 3.6 percent and in Rhode Island it’s down 4.5 percent. Employment is up one percent in New York, and nearly one percent in Massachusetts over that period.

Across the country, North Dakota experienced a 20.6 percent gain in employment since the recovery began, by far the nation’s largest increase. The state's population also jumped, accordingly.  Texas (8.6 percent), Utah (7.8 percent) and Indiana (6.4 percent) recorded the next-highest percentage increases over the four-year period.

As residents of Connecticut have seen first-hand, Texas is aggressively job poaching.  The Lone Star State and California are in the midst of a well-publicized battle for jobs, with Gov. Rick Perry making numerous visits to California and airing radio ads courting the state’s employers. The two states collectively added nearly 1.4 million jobs since the recovery began, accounting for more than a quarter of the nation’s total job growth. Perry, of course, is also taking on New York, Connecticut and Illinois in his jobs-snatching corporate romancing.

Most states still have a long way to go before payrolls return to pre-recession levels, Governing magazine reports. Nevada’s unemployment rate remains the country’s highest at 9.6 percent. The state also has registered the largest percentage drop in employment since the recession began (-9.8 percent), followed by Arizona (-6.3 percent) and Alabama (-5.2 percent).

A map developed by the publication shows the extent to which each state recovered, with states shaded based on the percentage change in nonfarm employment since the recession began in January 2008 (the National Bureau of Economic Research determined the economy peaked in December 2007).

State economies didn't all peak or bottom out at the same time either, so the data represents snapshots since the official start of the recession.  Traditionally, Connecticut enters national recessions late, and emerges from them after most states as well.  Governing also notes that the data doesn’t take into account more people entering the labor force.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported that Federal government employment continued to trend down in June (-5,000) and has declined by 65,000 over the past 12 months.  Of particular interest in Connecticut due to its employment levels in the financial services industry, employment in financial activities rose by 17,000 in June, with most of the increase occurring in credit intermediation (+6,000) and in insurance carriers and related activities (+6,000), according to the Bureau.

Employment in professional and business services rose by 53,000 in June. Over the past year, the professional and business services category has added 624,000 jobs.  Leisure and hospitality added 75,000 jobs in June. Monthly job growth in this industry has averaged 55,000 thus far in 2013, almost twice the average gain of 30,000 per month in 2012. Employment in the amusements, gambling, and recreation industry also continued to trend up in June (+19,000).

Hour-Long Commutes to Work Rank CT 36th in USA; Bridgeport 5th in Extra Travel Time on Fridays

Connecticut is a relatively small state.  Only Rhode Island and Delaware are smaller.  Yet, the percentage of workers in Connecticut who commute for 60 minutes or longer - one way -  to go to work each day is 7.7 percent.  That ranks the state 36th in the nation in percentage of workers commuting an hour or longer each trip to get to work.

Perhaps surprisingly, Connecticut is not among the states with the lowest percentage of workers needing to make an hour-long commutes to get to work each day.  In fact, more than a dozen states have a smaller percentage of long-commute drivers than Connecticut.  The lowest percentages of long commutes are in South Dakota (3.6% of workers), Iowa (3.7%) , Kansas (3.3%)  and Nebraska (2.9%). The study compared 2011 data.

The states with a larger percentage of their workforce making hour-long commutes includes California (10.1%), Delaware, D.C., Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia.  Connecticut ranks 22nd in population among the states.

Overall, Connecticut’s average commuting time ranked 19th in the nation, at 24.6 minutes, based on 2006-2010 data compiled by the website indexmundi.org.  The U.S. average was slightly higher at 25.2 minutes.  Among the state’s eight counties, the longest commutes – in time, not distance – were in Fairfield County, followed by Litchfield, Windham, Tolland, Middlesex, New Haven, New London and Hartford counties.

The website trulia.com provides graphic representations of travel time from areas surrounding major cities, including Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport in Connecticut - looking at travel by car, and via mass transit.

A year ago, the Bridgeport metropolitan area was ranked as the 5th worst traffic delay corridor in the country by Governing magazine.  Data compiled for Governing by traffic research firm Inrix shows Friday afternoons are the worst time of the week to drive in nearly three-quarters of metro areas across the country.  For most cities with already lengthy rush-hour commutes throughout the week, time spent behind the wheel is further prolonged on Fridays.

Bridgeport came in just behind Los Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu and Austin, Texas – and worse than Seattle, New York City, Portland, Washington and Chicago, which all fared somewhat better than the Park City in the Friday-afternoon traffic tie-up analysis done by the publication.    Areas with many workers living far outside a city can experience significant congestion when all flee the office early, the publication noted, citing Bridgeport, which recorded the nation’s fifth-longest Friday afternoon delays, as an example.

For the Bridgeport area, commuters added nearly 10 minutes in delays due to traffic congestion on Friday afternoons.  Boston, by comparison, added just under 7 minutes, New Haven 5 ½ minutes, Hartford just over 4 minutes.  Los Angeles, which topped the list, exceeded 13 minutes in the additional travel time necessary during the peak commute due to the traffic volume.

New London Harbor Light Recognized as State's Leading Lighthouse in USPS Stamp

The U.S. Postal Service has unveiling a stamp featuring the New London Harbor Light, the oldest and tallest lighthouse on Long Island Sound. The USPS indicates that it was originally established in 1761, financed by a lottery held by the Connecticut colonial legislature. The present lighthouse, built in 1801, was one of the earliest American lighthouses with a flashing beacon.

The lighthouse, which is owned by the New London Maritime Society, is the featured lighthouse for Connecticut in the 2013 United States Postal Service’s New England Coastal Lighthouses series. The stamp series highlights lighthouses from throughout the country.

New England Coastal Lighthouses also features the lighthouses at Portland Head, Maine; Portsmouth Harbor, New Hampshire; Point Judith, Rhode Island; and Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. Each stamp shows a close-up view of one of the five lighthouses that captures not only the down-to-earth aspect of the tower but also the mysterious qualities that compel us to come closer.

These five lighthouses are among the oldest in the U.S., and each is on the National Register of Historic Places. Boston Harbor Light is also a National Historic Landmark.  Howard Koslow created original paintings for New England Coastal Lighthouses stamp art-and for the entire lighthouse series. Howard E. Paine and Greg Breeding served as art directors.

The New England Coastal Lighthouses stamps are being issued as Forever® stamps. Forever stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce rate.  The USPS has also developed a short video about each of the lighthouses.

Previously, the Connecticut state 34 cent stamp from the Greetings From America commemorative stamp series featured the state. The United States Postal Service released this stamp on April 4, 2002. The retro design of this stamp resembled the large letter postcards that were popular with tourists in the 1930's and 1940's.

Last fall, Westport Now reported that Westport holds a special place in U.S. Postal Service history with more of its artists (17) designing more postage stamps (161-plus) than any other community in the nation.

Told You So, Nader's Latest Title, Replays Past Columns

In the beginning, Ralph Nader was often right.  In 1965, the publication of Unsafe at Any Speed changed the face of the automobile industry and made his a household name. The Winsted, Connecticut native became synonymous with consumer activism, and earned the designation time and again, revealing alarming and potentially harmful corporate actions and alerting consumers and government agencies to perils unknown.  That was last century.

As the current century got underway in earnest, Nader was campaigning for the office of President of the United States, appearing on the November 2000 ballot in states across the country, most notably New Hampshire and Florida, as it turned out.  Because in those states, Nader’s vote total exceeded the margin by which George Bush defeated Al Gore.  And, so the argument goes, had he not been a “spoiler,” most of those votes would have gone to Gore, who would then have won the Electoral College outright in addition to the popular vote, avoiding the Florida recount debacle and the U.S. Supreme Court decision that ultimately decided the election’s outcome for Bush.

The rest, as they say, is history.  And a whole lot of columns.  (For the record, Nader received 22,188 votes in New Hampshire; Bush’s margin over Gore was 7,211 votes.  In Florida, after the aborted recount, Bush won the state by 537 votes out of 5.9 million votes cast.  Nader received 97,488 votes.  On the ballot in 43 states, he won 2,882,995 votes, or 2.74 percent of the popular vote.)

Fast forward to 2013, and Nader’s latest book, which is neither modest in length, title or time period.  The book tour for “Told You So:  The Big Book of Weekly Columns,” which is hefty if not heavy, brought Nader, at age 79, to the Barnes & Noble at the Shoppes at Farmington Valley in nearby Canton on July 13, where stories were told, books were sold, and advice offered.

The Table of Contents – which runs 11 pages – indicates that “Big Book” is no euphemism.  The final column, circa 1972, is listed in the “Golden Oldies” category and begins on page 507.  The bulk of the entries, however, were written in the Bush and post-Bush era, between 2002 and 2012 – in other words, after the extraordinary 2000 election.

The book’s publisher says it provides a “panoramic portrait of the problems confronting our society and provides examples of the many actions an organized citizenry could and should take to create a more just and environmentally sustainable world.”  Nader continues to criticize those in power and corporations, and raise issues including increasing the minimum age.

Certainly a great many subjects are covered substantively in the book, and Nader spoke easily and expansively to a substantial audience of the curious and the book-buying snaking through the Barnes & Noble aisles.  (Autographs, of course, were free.)  Any rear-view mirror retrospective on Nader, however, cannot help but be seen through the prism of 2000 as well as 1965, and the consumer action organizations he launched.  Which may explain the volume of columns since his 2000 presidential run, and as the cover boldly states, the reminder directed to the reader (or even the passer-by), that Nader “Told You So,” even lately.

Veterans Education and Career Training Gains New Focus in Connecticut

With veterans returning from active duty in increasing numbers and seeking to pursue higher education or achieve a place in the workforce, efforts are underway in Connecticut to respond.

The Veterans Vocational Training Program (VVTP), is a new initiative of Hartford-based Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network (CPBN).  The program offers veterans,free of charge, two different programs of study.  Media Arts, which focuses on the Adobe programs Photoshop, Illustrator, and In-Design, is offered during the Fall 2013 semester, which begins on August 26.   The other program seeks to develop the talents of budding video producers and editors.

Both programs include 90 hours of classroom instruction, professional portfolio development, and an additional 60 hours of hands-on learning. In addition, the VVTP helps potential employers connect with veterans seeking specific employment opportunities.

There will be an Open House for veterans to learn more about the program on July 18 at5:30 PM at CPBN, located at 1049 Asylum Avenue in Hartford.  Inquiries about the program can be directed to Major (ret) Tim Krusko, Program Manager, at 860-275-7337 or email veterans@cpbn.org.  Questions can also be directed to CPBN’s Director of Education Services, Donna Sodipo at dsodipo@cpbn.org or 860.275.7337.  Individual tours of the facilities are also available.

The initiative has quickly developed a wide range of partners that will help CPBN provide veterans with a real-world education while increasing their employment opportunities. CPBN is also reaching out to colleges and universities for referrals of veterans who might benefit from the VVTP as a no-cost way to supplement or enhance their current media education experience through hands-on learning. The VTTP is not restricted to Connecticut residents.

The Fall 2013 semester starts August 26, 2013 and ends December 19, 2013.  The Spring semester will run January 13 through May 12, 2014.  The goal is to have 85 percent of program participants successfully employed after completing the program.

In a separate effort, the Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges, which includes 16 higher education institutions in the state, recently held a one day, state-of-the-art training for over 100 campus participants from throughout Connecticut that focused on military culture and serving student veterans.

Offered by the Center for Deployment Psychology, the training was designed to increase competency in the concerns, challenges, culture and experience of service members and veterans attending college. Mental health professionals as well as non-clinical university staff specializing in student affairs, financial aid, disability services, housing, campus security and others attended.

The training covered:

·  Culture and Experience of Service Members & Veterans on Campus

·  The Deployment Cycle and its Impact on Students

·  Reintegration on Campus

·  Outreach Strategies and Group Exercise

·  Overview of Treatments for PTSD on Campus

The training was offered free of charge to every non-profit public and private college in Connecticut.  It funded by a grant from the Bob Woodruff Foundation and was offered through a collaboration of the American Council on Education and the Center for Deployment Psychology at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.  The event was part of an ongoing effort coordinated by CCIC “to help campus representatives learn best practices and gain an understanding of resources available to make the campus experience successful for those who made the commitment to protect and serve our country.”

The VTTP is made possible through the generous corporate sponsorship of organizations and businesses including the Wounded Warrior Project, Newman’s Own Foundation, Walmart Foundation, the SBM Charitable Foundation, Farmington Bank Community Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.  Wounded Warrior Project awarded CPBN with a $250,000 grant for the economic empowerment of wounded warriors and their family members. CPBN is currently seeking additional grant programs to help grow the program beyond the first year and replicate it in other parts of the country.

The VVTP program is a component of CPBN’s soon-to-be-completed $3.5 million Learning Lab, which will also offer education programming aimed at Hartford public school students. CPBN will dedicate a state-of-the-art learning space to these initiatives, to include studios, sound rooms, classrooms, offices, and video production and media arts facilities.

CT Businesses Report "Going Green" Worthwhile; Sustainability Has Multiple Impacts

Eight in ten Connecticut companies that have invested time and money in “going green” say the effort has been worthwhile, citing benefits on the bottom line as well as improved employee morale, public image, and client/customer relationships. According to a new survey,  the main barrier to going green is cost, the factor cited by 65% of businesses.  Among companies engaged in sustainability, the strongest areas of involvement are energy efficiency (90%), waste management (77%), and green purchasing (74%).

Those are among the findings of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA) 2013 Sustainability and Connecticut Business Survey.  Sponsored by UIL Holdings, Inc., the survey gauges Connecticut companies’ commitment to environmental principles in their business operations and the impact of those efforts on business performance, stakeholder relations, and communities served.

The survey found that nearly two-thirds (66%) of Connecticut businesses engaged in sustainability. This is up from less than half (47%) in 2007, when CBIA first surveyed companies—but down from 74% in 2010, when the previous survey was conducted.

Mostt businesses (72%) find Connecticut’s environmental regulatory climate more restrictive than other states, according to the survey.  And nearly three-quarters of businesses surveyed (74%) say they would take advantage of state government incentives for going green, such as tax incentives and refunds for capital investments.

Among the other findings this yea, posted at www.cbia.com/business, include:

• Renewable energy is the area of greatest interest among businesses for future activities.
• Though slightly more than half (53%) of the companies surveyed say current economic conditions have not changed their level of commitment to sustainable business practices, 11% have stepped up their efforts, while 9% have made green practices less of a priority. Eighteen percent say green practices are part of their DNA.
• Nearly one-third of businesses surveyed (32%) require others in their supply chain—manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, and retailers—to adopt green business practices; 28% say that their own customers have requested or stipulated that they incorporate green business practices into their supply chain; and 9% have received similar requests from vendors.

The 2013 Sustainability and Connecticut Business Survey was emailed to 5,035 businesses in late April and early May; 434 businesses took the survey, for a response rate of 9% and a margin of error of +/- 4.8 %.  Most respondents (77%) were small businesses employing fewer than 50 workers. Businesses represented include manufacturers (33%), professional services (23%), retail (9%), nonprofit associations (8%), construction (6%), wholesale (6%), healthcare (5%), finance, insurance, and real estate (5%), and technology firms (4%). Companies engaged in hospitality, tourism, arts, and entertainment accounted for the remainder of respondents.

Two Connecticut Burgers Make America's Top 40

Two Connecticut-made burgers have been selected as among the 40 top burgers in America, according to the website The Daily Meal.  What better time to review the list then in the midst of the July 4th celebration?

Coming in at #17 is The Original Burger at Louis’ Lunch in New Haven, and at #32 the Steamed Cheeseburger from Ted’s in Meriden.  Both are perennial favorites, and no stranger to acclaim, here at home and well beyond Connecticut.

As the Louis’ Lunch website recalls the story… “One day in 1900, a gentleman hurriedly walked into Louis' Lunch and told proprietor Louis Lassen he was in a rush and wanted something he could eat on the run. In an instant, Louis placed his own blend of ground steak trimmings between two slices of toast and sent the gentleman on his way. And so, the most recognizable American sandwich was born.”  The New Haven icon was also featured by ABC television’s The Chew earlier this year, and Food and Wine magazine a year ago.

The Daily Meal added this description of the burger cooked in downtown New Haven: “A flame-broiled burger made in a vertical hinged-steel wire gridiron that cooks the burgers on both sides at the same time. That’s what. It’s a hamburger sandwich supposedly made from a blend of five cuts of ground steak. If you want condiments, you’ll have to ask. The extent that your burger is going to get tricked out is cheese, tomato, and onion. No mustard, ketchup, or mayo. But do you really need all that? You can practically taste the nostalgia. And that never disappoints.”

The other Connecticut top finisher is summed up this way by The Daily Meal: “Since 1959, Ted's, in this historic community north of New Haven (there is another location in nearby Cromwell and a food truck on the way), has steamed theirs. Steamed meat? Yep. Steamed Cheddar cheese, too. Cooked in custom-designed steam boxes, the burgers, served on kaiser-roll-like buns, lose very little bulk while cooking and, need we say, stay very moist. The steamed cheese is spooned over the patties and cloaks them thickly. Add lettuce and tomato (or complimentary sautéed onions and/or mushrooms) and you've got an unusual, and unusually good, burger.”

Ted’s “world famous steamed cheeseburgers” also topped the local Advocate newspaper’s “best of” list, most recently in 2012, “Best Burger in CT” from The Food Network Magazine and “Best Burger” from Connecticut Magazine. Ted’s describes itself as the only known restaurant in the U.S. that exclusively sells steamed cheeseburgers.

If you were wondering, New York City establishments took three of the top five slots, with the others going to burgers in Atlanta and Virginia.  The Daily Meal has America’s Top 40 burgers listed on their website, with mouth-watering images accompanying.  The Daily Meal, according to its website, produces more culinary content than any other resource.

Connecticut Ranks #7 in Internet Connectivity Speed, National Data Shows

Connecticut ranks #7 in the nation in Internet connectivity speed, according to a report published by the website StateTech, which provides technology insights for leaders of state and local governments.  The report is based on data compiled by Akamai, a Massachusetts-based web services provider, which gathers data from 180 countries to publish a State of the Internet Report.  Akamai employed its EdgeScape geolocation tool to determine the top  U.S. states with the highest connection speeds.

In the recent report, the average connection speed increased in 43 states and the District of Columbia, during the third quarter of 2012, StateTech reports.  Fast broadband is defined as speeds of 10 megabits per second (Mbps) or faster.  Although the average connection speed declined nearly 10 percent quarter-over-quarter, Delaware, at 10.9 Mbps, leads the way as the state with the highest average connection speed.

Rhode Island saw the smallest increase in connection speed, with 7.2 percent, while the District of Columbia saw the largest increase, with 50 percent. Connecticut, in placing seventh with a speed of 9.10 Mbps, came in just behind its New England neighbors of New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, which finished #3 through #6.

Texas was #34, and the three states at the bottom of the list were Kentucky, Alabama and Arkansas, at less than half the speed of Connecticut.

The top 20 Internet speeds across the United States:

Rank	State	Mbps
1.	Delaware	10.88
2.	District of Columbia	10.75
3.	New Hampshire	10.41
4.	Vermont	10.38
5.	Rhode Island	9.13
6.	Massachusetts	9.12
7.	Connecticut	9.10
8.	Utah	9.07
9 .	Washington	8.51
10.	Virginia	8.44
11.	New York	8.25
12.	Pennsylvania	8.07
13.	Indiana	7.94
14.	Oregon	7.86
15.	New Jersey	7.79
16.	California	7.68
17.	Minnesota	7.48
18.	South Dakota	7.46
19.	Wisconsin	7.41
20.	North Carolina	7.41

Local Business Extends “Fostering Hope” Program Providing Backpacks for Foster Children

In honor of National Foster Care Month, locally owned and operated advertising specialty and marketing company The Perfect Promotion collected new duffle bags, backpacks and luggage to supply to children in foster care as part of the Fostering Hope Program that they launched in 2010.

Through donations made  by the community, factory suppliers and The Perfect Promotion, hundreds of bags have been donated since the initiative was launched, including more than 200 this year. The bags were donated in May to the Rocky Hill-based Connecticut Association of Foster and Adoptive Parents, Inc. (CAFAP) and were distributed statewide to children in the care of the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF).

According to the Connecticut DCF, as of February 2012, there were a total of 4,515 children in foster care.  The average age is 9-years-old.    The placement breakdown includes 1,953 children in direct foster care, 1,221 in congregate care, 996 in relative care, 131 in independent living and 30 in a trial home.

“When I first learned that children in foster care oftentimes use a trash bag to carry all of their worldly belongings when they move from placement to placement, I knew we had to do something,” said Jody Ferrer, president of The Perfect Promotion. “It is my goal that the Fostering Hope Program will provide every child in foster care in the State of Connecticut with a bag to call their own, and a dignified means to move their possessions.”

More information about foster care is available from the state Department of Children and Families in a pamphlet, “A New Beginning” which tells the stories of the impact of foster care on the children and their foster families.

In  an ABC Primetime report telecast in 2006, it was reported that “Children have on average three different foster care placements. Frequent moves in and out of the homes of strangers can be profoundly unsettling for children, and it is not uncommon to hear of children who have been in 20 or 30 different homes.”

All families providing foster care and pre-adoptive care for children in Connecticut are licensed or approved according to the regulations of the Connecticut DCF.  The first step is to attend an open house offered by one of 14 area offices around the state. At the open house, staff provide an overview of the agency’s mission, philosophy of foster care, and the licensing process and requirements. To begin this process, or to learn more, call 1-888-KID-HERO or check the Open House Schedule.

The Perfect Promotion uses a consultative approach the focus is on the needs and goals of the client. Imprinted apparel and promotional products are used as tools to help businesses and nonprofits achieve their goals and maintain a positive, top-of-mind presence. For more information, visit www.theperfectpromotion.net.

Market Concerns, State Rankings May Yet Lead to Economic Growth

The reverberations from the Wall Street roller coaster of market highs and lows can have a significant impact on Connecticut’s budget balance, as tax revenues meet or miss projections due to fluctuations in tax revenue.  That, in turn, can create the need for unanticipated budget cuts - which then can affect a range of state services.

It can also take a toll on the state’s overall economy, in part because of the concentration of jobs in the financial services industry, and the significant wealth in Fairfield County impacted by the market.

Connecticut’s economic growth was ranked worst in the nation in 2012, with total state GDP dropping about $250 million compared to the previous year, according to data published this month by the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis.  Among the decline’s biggest factors, the report cited, were government austerity and challenges in real estate businesses, financial services and insurance.

Connecticut traditionally emerges slowly from national recessions, usually lagging other states - which appears to be true yet again, as the state’s unemployment rate of 8.0% remains above the national average.

All of which explains why recent market drops have been the cause of consternation and concern.  Last week, the Dow had dropped 6 percent since hitting its all-time high in May, according to CNBC, and the S&P 500 dropped more than 7 percent from its all-time high in May.  Stocks declined by more than 2 percent last Thursday, as the S&P 500 recorded its biggest daily decline since November 11, 2011, Reuters reported, and 94 percent of stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange down for the day and more than four-fifths of Nasdaq-listed shares ending lower.

However, Joseph Matthews, First Vice President at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, and supervisor of the firm's Fairfield office, says the disquiet in recent days, attributed to the Federal Reserve’s intention to eventually ease off in its monetary policy, is nothing more than a “mid-course” correction.  “Change creates anxiety,” he says, noting that while sluggish, the economy is grinding along.  Connecticut has gained jobs in four of the first five months of 2013, only losing employment during the blizzard-impacted month of February.

In responding to the state’s economic ranking this month, Governor Dannel Malloy pointed out that “one of the things that Connecticut has done, which is showing up in these numbers, is shrink the size of government faster than just about every other state.  That is not generally understood. So that has a negative impact [on the economy] and specifically had a negative impact in 2012."

Matthews concurs.  In his view, the decision to reduce the size of government provides an opportunity for the private sector to “drive growth” in the future – and he says the strategy may have the appearance of bad news but could ultimately improve the state’s economic prospects as the private sector steps up.

A graduate of Fairfield University with a B.S. in Accounting and an M.A. in Organizational Communication, Matthews assists institutions with the development and maintenance of definable and repeatable investment processes.  With both Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Certified Financial Planner™ professional designations, he has a history analyzing the markets and living in the midst of the Connecticut economy.  He says a vacuum in consumer confidence – such as in the aftermath of the 2008 recession – “cuts very deeply here.”  He stresses that the “one-two punch” of jobs and housing, which brings a negative multiplier effect, citing homes not being purchased, moving companies not being hired, closing fees not being paid, painters and carpenters not being hired, and so on.  Reversing that cycle takes time.

Earlier this year, Stateline reported that many states were likely to see their income tax revenue increase for 2012 and then fall in 2013 because taxpayers decided to sell off capital assets before the end of 2012 in anticipation of higher capital gains rates imposed by the federal government. Nine states ended fiscal 2012 with tax collections that were anywhere between 10 percent and 20 percent lower than their high point before the recession, according to the latest figures from the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government. Topping the list are Arizona and Louisiana.  Connecticut is outside the top 10 most severely impacted states.

In 2011, the Wall Street Journal reported that “New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Illinois—states that are the most heavily reliant on the taxes of the wealthy—are now among those with the biggest budget holes. A large population of rich residents was a blessing during the boom, showering states with billions in tax revenue. But it became a curse as their incomes collapsed with financial markets.”

Fast forward to 2013.  Matthews sees consumer confidence returning, and with it increasing tolerance for risk in the market.  That, combined with Connecticut’s policy to reduce government and incentivize business, could be a beneficial combination.

According to the state Department of Labor, overall, Connecticut has recovered 48.3% of the (seasonally adjusted non-farm) jobs that were lost in the state in the March 2008 to February 2010 employment downturn. The private sector, however, has been more upbeat and has recovered 59.2% of the private jobs that were lost during the same employment recession.

Matthews stresses he’d rather have investment dollars in the hands of businesses and consumers, rather than government – which appears to be what’s happening in Connecticut.  And uneasiness with revisions to Fed monetary policy notwithstanding, recent market drops may prove fleeting, as the Fed stays in the game and confidence builds – even in Connecticut.