With the state”™s unemployment rate hovering above 9 percent and the Legislature”™s passage of the largest tax increase in state history and the first in the nation paid sick-leave mandate ”“ making businesses less competitive ”“ growing Connecticut jobs is now a major focus of Gov. Malloy”™s administration. In his remarks before the Legislature”™s adjournment last month, the governor said, “It”™s an emergency and we need to continue to treat it as such.” He vowed to commit resources and he directed all of the state”™s agency heads to contribute in “tangible ways with plans for job creation and economic growth in the state.”
The governor plans to go back on the road this summer for a listening tour of the state”™s business community, with Catherine Smith, commissioner of the State Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD). The fact-finding tour will be in advance of his proposed special General Assembly session this fall, focusing on job creation and growth.
Smith has already been busy promoting the state”™s job growth agenda to business groups statewide. Most recently, she shared some good and bad news at CBIA”™s Manufacturing Workforce Summit in Rocky Hill. Speaking to an audience of 170 manufacturing executives, educators and public officials, Smith said that while Connecticut has a strong base of businesses in a diverse group of industry sectors, we lag other states in small business creation and growth.
In fact, according the fourth edition of the award-winning “Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index,” Connecticut ranks among the worst states for its ability to drive economic growth and create jobs, and fares only slightly better in its outlook for improving.
Smith candidly acknowledged that Connecticut is far less proactive in promoting itself to businesses and that many states are aggressively recruiting our companies with offers of lower costs.
She asked the conference attendees if they had been contacted by other states and nearly a dozen manufacturers in the audience raised their hands.
Smith says the state recognizes the importance of small businesses and that her agency is committed to nurturing those businesses, making sure they are appreciated and have access to capital and that the state is a friendly place for people to start their businesses.
Smith offered a series of observations about the state”™s economic and business climate, including:
- Our political environment is viewed as “unfriendly” to business with unpredictable actions from the Legislature and changing regulations and rules.
- Connecticut”™s costs of doing business are higher (e.g., urban real estate taxes, energy costs).
- Connecticut”™s quality of life is viewed as a positive and important to our companies, but will not offset significant financial shortfalls.
- We have some good programs to stimulate economic activity but do not promote them well.
- State agencies are viewed as difficult to navigate and it takes too long to get responses.
Smith told industry leaders that high-precision manufacturing is one of the key assets that differentiates Connecticut from other states, and the DECD”™s goal is to become more proactive in building on those assets.
Manufacturers are at a critical juncture, facing expected retirements of mid- and senior-level employees who will take with them longstanding institutional knowledge and experience. At the same time, significantly fewer people are pursuing manufacturing careers, which is creating a shortage of skilled workers who can help Connecticut”™s top industries stay ahead of the competition.
CBIA”™s “2011 Survey of Connecticut”™s Manufacturing Workforce,” released at the summit, further illustrates the extent of the skills shortage in Connecticut, including the fact that high-skill positions, such as CNC programmers and tool and die makers, continue to be difficult to fill, cited by 87 percent and 85 percent of manufacturers surveyed, respectively.
As the governor and Commissioner Smith embark on their listening tour and move toward the special session on jobs this fall, businesses encourage them and all of the state”™s 187 lawmakers to pay close attention to what”™s being said at these sessions. They should take the time to listen to the issues of employers, who are the real job creators and foundation for Connecticut”™s economic recovery, and focus on what needs to be done to help them grow jobs and ensure a brighter future for everyone.
Joseph F. Brennan is senior vice president of public policy at the Connecticut Business and Industry Association in Hartford. Reach him at joe.brennan@cbia.com.
