Panera in Connecticut: State of Flux

If you’re looking for a Panera location in Connecticut, check twice before you head out for a sandwich.  There may be a new location opening nearby, or the locale you’re familiar with may have already closed its doors. The churn at Panera may not be unusual, but it did come as an unwelcome surprise to regulars at the Newtown location when it abruptly closed in mid-November, with a sign on the door saying farewell (and please visit other locations.)   And later this month, the long-time location in Darien will be closing.

The Darien store has been renting 3,754-square-feet — the entire first floor of its building, since 2007, when it became the first Panera Bread restaurant to open up in Connecticut, according to published reports.

The chain now has more than 2,000 locations, including in Connecticut – some owned by the company, most by franchisees.  While the departure from Newtown was an unexpected surprise to customers, plans to leave the Darien location have been known since June, when it was first reported by local media.

Last fall, a Panera location closed in Meriden and a location in nearby Wallingford opened. Also on the plus side, a Panera opened earlier this year at Evergreen Walk shopping plaza in South Windsor.  As of this spring, there were 17 Panera Bread locations in Connecticut, all across the state.  The Downtown Hartford location, its first in the city, opened in 2013.

As of June 28, 2016, there were 2,007 bakery-cafes in 46 states and in Ontario, Canada operating under the Panera Bread, Saint Louis Bread Co. or Paradise Bakery & Cafe names. Published reports indicate the company has 97,000 employees nationwide and saw a 3.4 percent growth in sales in its third quarter this year. In 2015, it reportedly generated roughly $2.7 billion in revenue. Founder and CEO Ron Shaich attended college at Clark University in Worcester in the 1970’s.

Earlier this year, Fortune magazine reported that the company estimated that over 20% of orders would be produced and paid for digitally by the end of 2016, up from 16%. In some markets, digital sales are making up more than a third of retail sales, according to the company. The restaurant chain says digital orders could make up half of the total business down the road, the magazine reported.

According to the industry website Fast Casual, Panera Bread does not sell single-unit franchises, so it is not possible to open just one bakery-cafe. Rather, the company has chosen to develop by selling market areas which require the franchise developer to open a number of units, typically 15 bakery-cafes in a period of 6 years.

Panera says it serves 3 to 4 percent of all Americans every week.

Changes on the Way in New Haven Media Coverage

The news media focused on New Haven is undergoing some changes, as one publication ends, a new electronic weekly business news round-up is about to begin, and a longtime local business paper is changing its subscription system, reducing the number of non-paying subscribers. New Haven Living magazine, published by the Hartford Courant Media Group in recent years, will cease publication with its January edition, the company recently announced.  The New Haven-focused edition of the weekly CTNOW. an entertainment section, will also cease publication, last publishing on Dec. 29, the company said.

The Courant plans to continue publishing Hartford Magazine and the Hartford edition of CTNOW.  Each monthly addition of New Haven Living was nearly identical to Hartford Magazine, usually with a handful of New Haven-focused articles and features added.  The Courant reported that it made the decision while evaluating opportunities to invest in higher-growth areas and the cost of distribution in Greater New Haven.

Business New Haven, which began publication in 1993, announced in its latest issue that “we are changing our publishing approach” in an open letter to readers from veteran publisher Mitchell Young, under the headline “The Time Has Come To Decide.  Do You Want Business New Haven?”

Young says that “only paid subscribers will be guaranteed” to be included on the newspaper’s circulation list beginning with the next issue.  Subscriptions to the monthly print edition will be $24 per year.

“We believe in the value of quality local publications and we hope you find us worth the cost of a lunch – perhaps that is a way of saying there is No Free Lunch,” the full-page letter said.

A limited number of promotional copies will be limited “based on a proprietary algorithm for the support of our advertisers,” Young noted.  He also indicated that plans are in the works to expand the publication’s CONNTACT.com website in the next year, as “we try to build our subscriber base” for the print edition.  Business New Haven also publishes the monthly New Haven Magazine.

The Hartford Business Journal (HBJ), which prints a weekly print edition in the Hartford region and has a roster of electronic news publications and business-oriented events, added a statewide daily email aimed at business executives statewide in 2013.  The  paper recently announced that for those doing business in New Haven and Middlesex Counties, a weekly news round-up, New Haven Biz, will be added to the HBJ e-mail line-up on February 1.

The email is slated to deliver a weekly roundup of business news and information from the Elm City and beyond, the paper’s website explains. The Hartford Business Journal recently had a prominent location at the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce Big Connect annual business-to-business event to promote the upcoming news service.

The publication also emails HBJ Today each weekday at noontime highlighting the day’s lead business stories.  Subscriptions to the email-delivered news products, which also include the CT Health Care Weekly and CT Green Guide Weekly, are free.   CT Morning Blend includes the top business stories from online news sources around the state and the nation “to keep business decision-makers ahead of the competition.” It also includes a stock market snapshot and a business calendar.

HBJ, with a strong local presence in Greater Hartford for more than two decades, is published by New England Business Media, which also publishes the Worcester Business Journal and MaineBiz.  It also sponsors the annual CT Business Expo at the Connecticut Convention Center and numerous business programs and events in the region.

CT Unemployment Rate in Construction Industry Improving, But Remains Among Highest in US

Connecticut’s unemployment rate in the construction industry remained among the highest in the U.S., ranked 39^th among the 50 states in October, although the year-over-year change was the 12^th best in the country.  Connecticut’s October unemployment rate in the industry was 6.7 percent, higher than the U.S. average of 5.7 percent, according to data released by the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC).  The state’s construction industry unemployment rate nudged downward from 7.1 percent in September, but was 6.4 percent in July 2016.  In recent years, the rate ballooned to 18.1 percent in October 2010, at the height of the recession, from a low of 5.8 percent in October of 2008.

Overall, the U.S. construction industry added 19,000 net new jobs in November and has now added jobs for three consecutive months, according to analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data compiled by Associated Builders and Contractors. 

Industry employment is up by 2.4 percent on a year-over-year basis, considerably faster than the overall economy’s 1.6 percent job growth rate. Construction industry employment growth would likely be much sharper if more suitably skilled or trainable workers were available to fill available job openings, according to the ABC.

The data indicate that skilled labor shortage nationally appears to be impacting nonresidential activity more than residential. The nonresidential sector added 1,100 net new jobs in November, while the residential sector added 19,600 positions. Heavy and civil engineering lost 2,100 jobs for the month.

“The demand for construction talent was strong before the election, and the outcome has improved the near-term outlook for private and public construction activity,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu.  “The implication is that demand for construction workers is positioned to remain high, which will translate into gradual reduction in industry unemployment and significant wage pressures.

In the state-by-state numbers, calculated for October, the states with the lowest estimated not-seasonally-adjusted construction unemployment rates were North Dakota, Massachusetts, Colorado, Utah, New Hampshire and South Dakota. October not seasonally adjusted (NSA) construction unemployment rates were down in 33 states, including Connecticut, on a year-over-year basis.  Connecticut's October 2015 unemployment rate in the construction industry was 8.0 percent.

North Dakota’s unemployment rate in the industry was 2.4 percent, with Massachusetts at 2.5 percent.  New Hampshire’s construction industry unemployment rate was 3.6 percent.  Elsewhere in New England, Rhode Island’s unemployment rate in the construction industry was fourth highest in the nation, at 8.7 percent in October.

The unemployment rate for all U.S. industries fell to 4.6 percent in November, the lowest rate since mid-2007 and 0.3 percentage points below October’s rate. The labor force lost 226,000 persons for the month, but is still more than 2 million people larger than at the same time one year ago, officials pointed out.

America’s Best States to Live In: Connecticut Ranks Second

The only state that is a better place to live in than Connecticut is Massachusetts, according to a new survey of key data.  Connecticut was ranked second when the website 24/7 Wall St. reviewed three statewide social and economic measures — poverty rate, educational attainment, and life expectancy at birth — to rank each state’s living conditions.  Based on the data analyzed, the state’s motto could easily be “live long and prosper.” Massachusetts, home to one of the nation’s wealthiest and most highly educated populations, followed by neighboring Connecticut, lead the nation in quality of life. Mississippi, the poorest state in the country, trails the other 49 states.

Among the key stats for Connecticut:

• 10-year population growth: 5.8% (10th lowest)
• Unemployment rate: 5.1% (19th highest)
• Poverty rate: 10.5% (6th lowest)
• Life expectancy at birth: 80.4 years (2nd highest)

Quality of life in the United States is heavily dependent on financial status, the survey summary points out. As a consequence, the nation’s best states to live in often report very high incomes. With a median household income of $71,346 a year, fifth highest of all states, Connecticut is the second best state to live in and an especially good example of this pattern, the description of Connecticut’s ranking explains.

The publication notes that “While satisfactory living conditions are possible with low incomes, this is true only to a point. Once incomes fall below the poverty line, for example, financial constraints are far more likely to diminish quality of life.”

Rounding out the top five:  New Hampshire, Minnesota, and New Jersey.  At the bottom of the list: Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, West Virginia and Mississippi.

Education levels are another major contributor to a community’s living conditions — not just as a basis of economic prosperity, but also as a component of an individual’s quality of life. Due in part to the greater access to high paying jobs that often require a college degree, incomes also tend to be higher in these states. In all of the 15 best states in which to live, the typical household earns more than the national median household income of $55,775, 24/7 Wall St. pointed out.

Like the vast majority of states on the higher end of the list, Connecticut is described as relatively safe. There were 219 violent crimes reported for every 100,000 state residents in 2015, among the lowest rates of all states, the survey stated.  Housing markets are also indicative of quality of living. A high median home value, for instance, frequently means high demand for housing in the area. Nationwide, the typical home is worth $194,500. In most of the 25 top states, the median home value far exceeds the nationwide median.

The survey did not take into account more subjective conditions such as climate preference, the presence of friends and family, and personal history.

To identify the best and worst states in which to live, 24/7 Wall St. devised an index composed of three socioeconomic measures for each state: poverty rate, the percentage of adults who have at least a bachelor’s degree, and life expectancy at birth. The selection of these three measures was inspired by the United Nations’ Human Development Index. Poverty rates and bachelor attainment rates came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2015 American Community Survey. Life expectancies at birth are from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and are as of 2012, latest year for which data is available. Unemployment rates are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and are for October 2016, the most recent available month of data.

CT Residents See Improving Economy, Even As Jobs Remain in Short Supply; Millennials Most Upbeat About Business Conditions

Seven in 10 Connecticut residents say overall business conditions in the state are either better or the same as six months ago, according to the quarterly Inform CT Consumer Confidence Survey, and 75 percent expect conditions to either remain the same or improve in the next six months. The latest survey, covering the third quarter of 2016, also found residents are more willing to spend on major consumer items – a sign of a strengthening economy – and less concern about immediate job security.  The survey also found that millennials, ages 22-25, are the demographic most upbeat about the state’s economic progress, with 41 percent saying overall business conditions were better than six months ago.  Those ages 18-21 and 26-35 had the next most positive views.

In a reversal from the previous quarter, 42 percent of state residents surveyed said they were unlikely to move out of state in the next 5 years, compared with 34 percent who described such a move as likely.  In the previous survey, conducted in the second quarter of this year, the numbers were reversed with 42 percent saying that it was likely they’d be moving out of state within five years, compared with only 32 percent who said such a move was unlikely.

The quarterly survey is released by InformCT, a public-private partnership that provides independent, non-partisan research, analysis, and public outreach to help create fact-based dialogue and action in Connecticut.

Tempering upbeat views is the continuing widely-held opinion that there are “some jobs in Connecticut, but not enough.”  Those expressing that view increased to 63 percent in the third quarter, the highest percentage since the survey began.  An additional 24 percent view jobs as “very hard to get.”  Thus, nearly nine in ten view the number of available jobs as insufficient in the state.  The survey also found:

• Less concern about job security: Only one-third (35%) expressed concern that their job or the job of their spouse/partner is in jeopardy, down from 39 percent in the previous quarter and 42 percent in the first quarter this year.
• Continuing strong concern about health insurance costs: Nearly two-thirds of state residents (64%) say they are concerned about being able to afford health insurance.
• Continuing concern about retirement savings: Overall, 50 percent of those surveyed disagreed with the statement “I will have enough money to retire comfortably,” compared with 23 percent who agreed.  Those currently of working age are most concerned about retirement savings.
• Connecticut is a good place to raise a family: Overall, fifty percent of those surveyed expressed that view, compared with 28 percent who disagreed, a ratio that has been relatively consistent in the quarterly surveys.  The two age groups that agree most are now, or will likely soon be, starting families – 62 percent of those ages 22-25 and 60 percent of those ages 26-35.
• Personal financial situation improving: 30 percent of survey respondents said their personal financial situation was better today than six months ago, compared with 28 percent who said they were worse off.

Residents of Windham and Fairfield counties were more likely to view overall business conditions as being better now than six months ago, the survey found.  Twenty-nine percent of Windham residents held that view as did 28 percent of Fairfield residents.  Residents of the state’s other six counties, Middlesex (23%), New London (20%), New Haven (20%), Litchfield (16%), Tolland (16%) and Hartford (16%) had fewer residents expressing that opinion.

Among other consumer survey findings:

• Nearly three-quarters of those surveyed (73%) said that in the next 6 months they were likely to take a vacation outside the state, the highest proportion since the survey began nearly two years ago, and the fourth consecutive quarterly increase.
• The proportion of respondents likely to make a major consumer expenditure for furniture or another product also was the highest in seven quarters, at 43 percent, up from 26 percent a year ago.
• The percentage of respondents who indicated they were likely to buy or refinance their home (16%) or purchase a new car (26%) were both at levels higher than in the 3rd quarter of 2015.

Administered by researchers from the Connecticut Economic Resource Center, Inc. (CERC) and Smith & Company, the analysis is based on the responses of 510 residents across Connecticut and addresses key economic issues, providing a glimpse of the public’s views.  The survey has a margin of error of 5 percent.

Public Hearings Conclude; State Spending Cap Commission Seeks Definitions to Impact Spending Decisions

“Stop with the financial games and own up to the problem.”  That was the succinct comment provided to the 24-member state Spending Cap Commission by Darien resident Ken Weil at a public hearing this fall.  Small business owner Justin Higgins, of Orange, added that citizens should “always know where we stand financially without loopholes and political gamesmanship.” The Commission has held 18 meetings, beginning in March and most recently on November 14, as well as five public hearings during the past two months, during which nearly two dozen people filed testimony.  With the state anticipating an estimated $3.1 billion deficit for the next two fiscal years, dollars and sense will be front and center when the legislature, with 30 new members and a dead-even split in the State Senate, convenes in January.

The Commission next meets on Nov. 28, according to CT-N.  Public Act 15-1, December Special Session (Section 24) established the Spending Cap Commission, charged with creating, for the purposes of the state's constitutional general budget expenditures requirements, proposed definitions of (1) "increase in personal income", (2) "increase in inflation", and (3) "general budget expenditures".

What the commission has been asked to address is two decades in the making - definitional questions with fiscal implications that have influenced policy and budget balancing since the passage of the state income tax in the early ‘90’s.  The Director of UConn’s Center for Economic Analysis, Fred Carstensen, said in an article published this month that “the spending cap as designed has been an unmitigated disaster, fiscally and economically.” 

The Commission is chaired by William Cibes, a former state legislator and Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management when the income tax was imposed and state spending cap was approved by voters, and Patricia Widlitz, also a veteran former legislator.  Members include Republicans and Democrats currently serving in the legislature, and others who have extensive experience with state government, in the public or private sector.  It is likely that the incoming state legislature will be looking to the Commission’s findings, as it grapples with the way forward for state finances.

As the public hearings approached in October, the Commission voted to include the following proposed definitions to be addressed:

• “Increase in personal income” means the compound annual growth rate of personal income in the state over the preceding five calendar years, according to United States Bureau of Economic Analysis data
• “Increase in inflation” means the increase in the consumer price index for urban consumers, all items less food and energy, during the preceding calendar year, calculated on a December over December basis, according to United States Bureau of Labor
• The Commission is still considering potential optional language for the third proposed definition – “general budget expenditures” – it is charged with creating. That language may concern, among others, such expenditures as payments for bonds, notes and other evidences of indebtedness, court orders, federal mandates, grants to distressed municipalities, as well as the use of federal funds and monies contained in the budget reserve fund. Proposed language pertaining to these and other additional topics pertaining to general budget expenditures may also be suggested at the public hearing, and considered by the Commission.

Some of the comments received by the Commission, at hearings in Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport, Willimantic and Waterbury, are quite clear on what the result ought to be done, even if precise wording is not offered:

Louise DiCocco, Assistant Counsel for the Connecticut Business & Industry Association, noted that “24 years ago, more than 80 percent of Connecticut votes overwhelmingly approved a spending cap to keep the cost of state government within the taxpayers’ means to afford it.  Voters demanded the cap as an offset to the persona income tax in Connecticut.  The state must enact a spending cap that is ironclad and works.”

Added the MetroHartford Alliance in testimony by Vice President Patrick McGloin: “Adoption by the legislature of well-crafted spending cap definitions will clearly demonstrate to our fellow residents and private sector employers that we have the political will to be fiscally disciplined.”  DiCocco noted that “the spending cap has always had a safety valve or escape mechanism.  They include bonded debt service, aid to distressed municipalities and first year costs of federal or court ordered mandates.”

The Connecticut affiliate of the National Federation of Independent Businesses pointed out that “reasonably understood, clear definitions of the key terms that will lead to additional budget transparency, predictability and ultimately cap state spending on an annual basis in a way that aptly reflects the will of the voters,” adding that “business owners feel that the legislature absolutely needs to stop allowing excessive spending to be an option and to recognize the ‘new economic reality’, just as small business owners have had to do. Achieving that goal is the most effective economic development policy we could have, and we believe that implementing the constitutional spending cap, and properly defining component terms, would go a long way in this regard.”

Westport resident Tom Lasersohn observed that “In business you learn that for every one customer that complains, there are many you have already lost as customers. For every citizen who gives testimony to this Commission, there are many who are so disgusted with the State’s fiscal mismanagement and chicanery that they will leave at the earliest convenient opportunity. Many outside the State peer in and resolve ‘no, not for me until the State gets its fiscal act together.’ A responsible definition for ‘general fund expenditures’ will communicate to both current and prospective residents and businesses that we are serious about fixing our problems.”

State Senator Toni Boucher of Danbury told the Commission:  “I hope that the commission to adopt a definition of general budget expenditures that is comprehensive and gives a complete and realistic account of all the money that the state spends… it is equally critical that the legislature not be allowed to move what was once an expenditure included under the cap to bonding or fund it with a revenue intercept for the purpose of undermining the cap’s integrity.”

The final form of Commission recommendations remains unclear.  Minutes of the Commission’s most recent scheduled meetings, on October 31 and November 14, have not yet been posted to the Commission’s website, nor has an agenda for the Nov. 28 meeting (as of Nov. 27).

While Boucher is not a member of the Commission, a number of her legislative colleagues are.  The definitions – and the implications for the state’s budget and taxpayers – may soon be theirs to decide.  A decade ago, a UConn report observed that “the spending cap is only as restrictive as the legislative process decides it should be; its strictures are not written in stone.”

UPDATE: 

link to Agenda for Commission's Final Meeting on Nov. 28, 2016 and CTNewsJunkie article reporting on meeting.

link to CT-N video of Commission's Meeting on Nov. 28  at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford; Next meeting scheduled for Dec. 5

CT Ranked 9th Among Small States in "Main Street Entrepreneurship," Showing Improvement

Improvements in Connecticut’s “Main Street Entrepreneurship” has pushed the state’s ranking to 9^th among the nation’s 25 smaller states, up from 12^th a year ago, in the latest analysis from the Kauffman Foundation. The nation as a whole and most states and metro areas are experiencing higher rates of small business activity, according to the 2016 Kauffman Index of Main Street Entrepreneurship.  Nationally, there was a sharp uptick in the survival rate of businesses in the last year. At the same time, Main Street entrepreneurship activity gained ground in 47 states and 38 of the 40 largest metropolitan regions.

Among the nation’s smaller states, the top ranked entrepreneurial states were South Dakota, Vermont, Montana, North Dakota, Maine, Iowa, Nebraska, New Hampshire.  After Connecticut, Oregon rounded out the top ten.  Connecticut was one of only two states to move up three positions in the ranking.

The state’s rate of business owners was 6.55 percent; the percentage of the adult population that owns a business as their main job, according to the survey data.

The number of established (older than four years) small (less than fifty employees) businesses per 1,000 firms was 649.9 in Connecticut.  In Massachusetts, which ranked third among the nation’s 25 larger states, it is 684.7.  The top ranked larger states were Minnesota, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, Louisiana, California and Illinois. 

"The Main Street Entrepreneurship Index provides additional evidence that U.S. small business activity has rebounded from the downturn and continues to gather strength," said Arnobio Morelix, senior research analyst at the Kauffman Foundation. "More new businesses are making it through their first five years of operation. While this could indicate that a lack of dynamism is allowing less-productive firms to hang on longer, overall the entrepreneurial increases bode well for the established, small businesses that underpin much of our economy."

Among the larger states, the rate of businesses surviving through their first five years ranges from 44 percent in Arizona to 53.3 percent in Pennsylvania. Among the smaller states, the business survival rate ranges from 43.4 percent in Nevada to 58.1 percent in North Dakota.  In Connecticut, the rate is 51.35 percent, the 8^th highest among the 25 smaller states.

In start-up activity, Connecticut ranked 22^nd out of 25 smaller states, a drop of two positions since last year.  The Survival Rate of American businesses is the main driver of the recent improvements in Main Street Entrepreneurship in the United States, and has reached a three-decade high of 48.7 percent—meaning that almost half of new businesses make it to their fifth year of operation.

U.S. Census Bureau business statistics show that established small businesses represent almost 68 percent of all employer firms in the country.   The five metros with the highest Main Street entrepreneurship activity are Pittsburgh, Boston, Portland, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

The Kauffman Index of Main Street Entrepreneurship captures business activity in all industries and is based on both a nationally representative sample size of roughly 900,000 responses each year and the universe of all employer businesses in the United States, in a dataset that covers approximately five million businesses.

Aerospace Components Manufacturers to Convene in Hartford

Aerospace Components Manufacturers (ACM) “Future WorkForce Opportunities” Fair and Trade Show draws over 850 students to learn about the many career paths available in the local aerospace manufacturing industry. The event takes place the afternoon of Nov. 9 at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford. ACM comprises one of the largest, most experienced concentrations of world-class aerospace companies, the world's AEROSPACE ALLEY! ® The organization points out that member firms grew up where aerospace was born. Today, precision components manufacturer in the state take to the skies every day, in every corner of the globe, as they have since the inception of powered flight.

ACM member companies are “united by a single goal; be the world leader in providing customers with aerospace components of unsurpassed quality, at competitive prices and always, on-time delivery.”

To achieve that goal, officials work with peers and with regional, national and international experts to ensure continuous improvement of our products and services. The cornerstone of the effort is an aggressive program for adopting and implementing lean enterprise practices and conducting ongoing workforce training and development.

Student attendees of the event will have an opportunity to meet and talk with representatives of 100 top suppliers, all in one place at one time.  Last year, over 800 students and teachers visited from 32 schools spread across Connecticut and southwestern Massachusetts to learn about the array of career choices available in the aerospace manufacturing industry.

CT's Science and Technology Ranking Rises to 6th in the Nation

Following three consecutive finishes ranking ninth in the nation in the State Technology and Science Index (STSI), Connecticut has moved up to number six in 2016, it’s highest finish in more than a decade.  The state ranked ninth in 2010, 2012 and 2014 in the analysis produced every other year by the Milken Institute, following a 7^th place ranking in 2008 and 10^th in 2004.  The ranking was the highest for the state in all seven releases of the STSI index. The STSI benchmarks states on their science and technology capabilities and broader commercialization ecosystems that contribute to company growth, high-value-added job creation, and overall economic growth, the institute’s website explains.  

“We view the STSI as a measure of a state's innovation pipeline. The index isn't intended to be a measure of immediate economic impact, but rather to demonstrate that the return on science and technology assets will accrue in future years.”

The top five states in 2016 are Massachusetts, Colorado, Maryland, California and Washington.  Rounding out the top 10, after Connecticut, are Minnesota, Utah, Virginia and Delaware.

In specific categories, the state’s ranking varied, with considerable improvement in some categories. In the Technology and Science Workforce composite index, Connecticut ranked 10th, an improvement from rankings of 16th in 2014, 13th in 2012 and 14th in 2010.  This composite measures the relative presence of high-end technical talent, and consists of 18 eighteen various indicators.

The STSI's 107 individual indicators are sorted into five composites: Research and Development Inputs, Risk Capital and Entrepreneurial Infrastructure, Human Capital Investment, Technology and Science Workforce, and Technology Concentration and Dynamism.  The report indicated that "Connecticut showed major improvement in the Technology Concentration and Dynamism index, going from 21st to 10th. This dramatic rise marks one of the larger overall changes on this index. While modest increases were seen in the Research and Development Inputs index and Human Capital Investment index, these two indices have a much heavier focus on stock measures, and Connecticut’s aerospace and defense sectors help anchor the state’s performance in these areas."

Connecticut also ranked 10th in the Technology Concentration and Dynamism composite index, the state’s highest ranking in that category, and largest jump from two years ago.  In 2014, Connecticut ranked 21st.  In the two previous analyses, Connecticut was 12th in 2012 and 18th in 2010.

In the Human Capital Investment composite index, Connecticut ranked third, as it did in 2014 and 2012, after ranking fifth in 2010.  In Research & Development, Connecticut placed eighth, its second highest finish, after ranking tenth, seventh and seventh in previous indexes.  Connecticut ranked 11^th in Risk Capital and Entrepreneurial Infrastructure, up from 14^th two years ago, but not as high as sixth place in 2012 and third in 2010.

The Human Capital Investment composite index looks at how much is invested in developing the workforce—the most important intangible asset of a regional or state economy. Twenty-one indicators are included in this composite index.  The R&D composite examines a state's R&D capacity to see if it has the facilities that attract funding and create innovations that could be commercialized and contribute to economic growth, and includes eighteen indicators.  The Risk Capital and Entrepreneurial Infrastructure Composite Index determines the success rate of converting research into commercially viable products and services. It includes 12 indicators.

While Connecticut was gaining ground, other states were bottom dwellers.  The analysis raised alarms regarding the prospects for those states.

“The states with the weakest innovation assets and ecosystems for starting and growing innovative firms face a bleak future unless changes are made. West Virginia, Arkansas, Mississippi, Kentucky, and Louisiana make up the bottom five in this year's STSI. They are the least knowledge-intensive and their residents exhibit weak entrepreneurial skills. All of them have undertaken efforts to change their position in technology and science but have had limited success.”

Massachusetts remained in first place with a score of 83.7, retaining the position it has held since the inaugural STSI was released in 2002.

Wyoming, the most improved state, climbed 10 places, to 36th. The state had broad gains but benefited most from the broader definition of occupations in the Technology and Science Workforce category, which included its talent in mining engineering, the analysis pointed out. Missouri rose six spots, to 28th; seen as primarily attributable to a 24-place leap in Risk Capital and Entrepreneurial Infrastructure.

Diverse Hispanic Workforce More Likely to Face Challenges, Report Finds

There are about 24 million workers of Hispanic descent in the United States. While this group is frequently referred to as a single entity, the reality is that these workers come from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, each with their own challenges in the labor market. A new report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) provides an overview of the diverse backgrounds of the Hispanic workforce, and shows how each group experiences unique challenges in the labor market, specifically in terms of unemployment, wages, poverty, language barriers, and access to health and retirement benefits.

The report, “Hispanic Workers in the United States” also shows that union representation has helped to address some of these challenges. Some highlights from the report include:

• Workers of Mexican descent are by far the largest subgroup of the Hispanic workforce (14.9 million);
• Women make up only 43.3 percent of the overall Hispanic workforce, but they are a majority of several subgroups, including Panamanians (58.1 percent), Bolivians (53.2 percent), and Paraguayans (51.0 percent);
• About two-thirds of Hispanic workers are U.S. citizens – Puerto Ricans (98.7 percent) and Spaniards (90.9 percent) are the groups most likely to be citizens;
• Hispanic workers in general are more likely than workers of any other race/ethnicity to be in poverty. Among Hispanics, Guatemalans are most likely to be members of the working poor (19.1 percent);
• About 30 percent of Hispanic workers do not have health insurance, but over half of Guatemalan and Honduran workers lack health insurance.

Connecticut’s population is 15 percent Hispanic, the 11th largest Hispanic statewide population share nationally, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.  The Latino population increased by 50 percent in Connecticut from 2000 to 2010. The highest percentage of Hispanics in Connecticut municipalities are in Hartford, Willimantic, Bridgeport, New Britain, Waterbury, Meriden, New Haven, New London, Stamford and Danbury, according to Zip Atlas. In Connecticut, Mexicans are the second largest Hispanic community in the state behind Puerto Rican residents, CT Mirror has reported. Willimantic, New Haven and Norwalk have the three highest Mexican populations in Connecticut, with 5.24 percent, 2.8 percent and 2.28 percent, according to 2013 data.

The American Immigration Council reports that the Latino share of Connecticut’s population grew from 6.5% in 1990, to 9.4% in 2000, to 14.7% (or 527,163 people) in 2013. In 2009, 94.4% of children in Latino families in Connecticut were U.S. citizens.

Orlando Rodriguez, former legislative analyst at the now-defunct state Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission, told ctlatinonews.com last year that Connecticut’s future is largely dependent on how successful Latinos are in getting into the middle class, and how successful the state is in being able to create middle class jobs for them.

“Simply put,” he said, “The numbers are growing, and if Latinos don’t enter the middle class of Connecticut in large numbers, the state’s economy will feel it negatively…and if they do enter it in large numbers, the economy will grow.”

Cherrie Bucknor, author of the CEPR report explained, “Understanding the diversity and challenges faced by Hispanic workers is key to making better policy decisions.”  The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) is an independent, nonpartisan think tank that was established to promote democratic debate on the most important economic and social issues that affect people's lives.