Connecticut’s worker shortage remains a persistent problem

If every unemployed person in Connecticut were hired tomorrow there would still be 22,000 openings, according to the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA).

“We clearly have more jobs than people who can fill those jobs,” said Chris DiPentima, president and CEO of the CBIA. “That stems from pre-Covid challenges. In 2019 we saw less than 1% population growth over that period of time, and even with the spike we had during the pandemic our population growth since 2008 affected that. So, there’s just not enough people coming into the state and quite a few folks leaving the labor force because they’re older and retiring or trying to start their own business.”

DiPentima added, “It’s in every industry sector, it’s in every job level from the most entry level to the highest skill requirements. That’s where we get very concerned.”
Connecticut’s shortage of workers is at odds with national trends. Major employers across the country are cutting the starting pay for new hires compared to what they were offering as they scrambled for staff during the pandemic, according to the Wall Street Journal. Yet Connecticut, which the CBIA noted in their response to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report, now has the fifth highest average wage in the country after a growth of 4.4% last year.

David Lewis, CEO of Norwalk-headquartered Operations Inc., the largest HR consulting practice in Connecticut and one of the largest in the country, described the current situation as “unprecedented,” particularly with regards to how many people are leaving their jobs.

“When you see a high number of voluntary quits it indicates a high level of confidence by the employed population that they can quit because not only are they going to be able to find another job if they haven’t already, but they also don’t have the typical recessionary fear where by being the most recent hire they’re also the most likely to be fired in the event of some reduction in demand,” Lewis said.

Lewis described the current situation in Connecticut as largely stemming from two issues. The first is that the “pipeline” of candidates for many positions, particularly manufacturing and service roles that benefit from an associate degree has not been maintained.

“The state hasn’t done a good enough job in my view of making that clear and of creating the appropriate feeder system to drive people into these jobs,” Lewis said. “We have some significant challenges ahead of us because instead of doing the things that were flagged 10, 15 years ago we’re now catching up at the worst possible time.”

The second issue, according to Lewis, is that the U.S. has not experienced a major recession for a similar amount of time.

“It’s sort of a twisted comment,” Lewis said, “but some of these companies are kind of rooting for a recession because if it came on today, they would have an easy time filling a lot of those roles.”

The emphasis that other states have put on retraining is also a difficult option for the state according to Lewis, since most industries in the state, such as defense companies like Sikorsky and Electric Boat, are reasonably healthy and unlikely to move any time soon. Retaining is most useful when a single industry is hard hit and forced to lay off large numbers of workers with narrowly applicable skillsets.

Lewis pointed to Massachusetts as an example of a state that is taking the steps necessary to build and maintain the worker “pipeline.”

“Massachusetts figured this out 20, 30 years ago,” he continued, “How do you create a feeder system within your own state that feeds the open positions that are created by the success of the businesses? By successfully, deliberately, and strategically partnering with education.”

According to Lewis, business associations need to work closely with the state to foster those relationships and help schools that grant two-year degrees offer enticing programs for students. In his view, this is the main thing that has lured some employers to leave Connecticut for its northern neighbor.

“Getting talent to come to Connecticut, getting talent to stay in Connecticut, it’s just hard,” said Dan Onofrio, president of the Bridgeport Regional Business Council. “Particularly here in
Fairfield County We’re very competitive with our salary here in Connecticut, but as much as we don’t like to say it, we have a serious housing problem and I think that’s driving a lot of difficulty getting that talent.”

According to Onofrio, affordability issues, particularly in the realm of housing, have continued to worsen while the state fails to justify the higher price tag in the eyes of potential workers from across the Northeast who mainly view Connecticut as a buffer between New York City and Boston.

Saying that the state has “good bones,” Onofrio said he hopes the state will work to address underlying issues while local organizations strengthen their pitches to potential new residents.

P.J. Prunty, president and CEO of the Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce, described similar issues among the members of his organization. Yet while the northern part of the county has somewhat more affordable housing, he also described a persistent issue that predated Covid but became increasingly urgent during the pandemic.

“Staffing has always been a challenge, but now it is priority one. Our members are saying they’re still trying to find a controller, they’re still trying to find an accountant, a foreman. It’s a consistent obstacle that some of these businesses are looking to overcome,” Prunty said.

Prunty stressed that the problem was not debilitating to the point businesses were facing existential threats, but that it was frustrating as a barrier to unlocking the full potential of the region.

DiPentima, Lewis, Onofrio, and Prunty emphasized the need for businesses to make their voices heard by the state and to urge lawmakers to take action which can solve underlying issues. In the meantime, there are steps that companies can take to ensure they can attract and retain top talent ahead of legislative measures.

Steve Schwartz, who co-owns the Shelton office of national staffing firms Express Employment Professionals, described the current situation as unique in the country, with issues pertaining to an aging workforce exacerbated by the pandemic.

“What we have is an aging skilled and semi-skilled workforce that’s coming out of the system, and Covid made people face their own mortality and realize, ‘Hey, maybe I do have enough for retirement,'” Schwartz said, adding that rising home values also boosted the equity available to workers who already owned houses.

Schwartz stated that the employee shortfall has him urging businesses to approach hiring with a degree of lateral thinking.

“I like to use Dunkin Donuts as an example,” Schwartz explained. “If you want to be a machine operator at a facility I love to see Dunkin Donuts on your resume because what you’re doing there is managing multiple machines at once, managing specific instructions from a customer, and if something goes wrong with a machine you have to be able to do basic repairs, all in a fast-paced environment. Those are transferable skill sets and we’re trying to get people to identify what skill sets are most transferable because if you’re out there looking for your direct match, you’re most of the time not going to find it unless you really out pay your competition.”

In Schwartz’s view, many businesses, including in manufacturing, need to rethink basic assumptions about how they structure the workplace as well as offering competitive salaries. He recommended robust training programs which let companies focus less on prior experience and end the desperate scramble for short term employees. In addition, he noted that while not every business can adopt a work-from-home model there is still space for innovation, there is still room for flexibility.

“The factory worker is rightly a little frustrated,” he said. “During Covid when they had to work, to show up every day for five days a week, people who weren’t on the floor were working remote or hybrid. And you know a lot of laundry gets done Monday through Friday these days.”

“There’s some other creative things companies can do,” Schwartz added. “There’s the four-day work week, it’s really a productivity boost when it’s been studied in England.”

Whether going to 32 hours a week without lowering pay or planning around four 10-hour days with an optional overtime shift on Friday, Schwartz said the data indicates positive impacts on productivity, and a workforce that is better rested at the start of the week.

The proposal is already popular with many workers according to a recent nationwide study by Eagle Hill Consulting that found 67% of surveyed workers insisting a four-day work week would help alleviate burnout, making it the most popular option followed closely by increased flexibility in working hours and a decreased workload.

“User experience,” Schwartz said of how companies need to approach staffing during a worker shortage. “I’m going to say it again, ‘user experience.’ What are you providing for your associates to make them want to work there and stay there?”