Jobs For Connecticut Now

From Masschusetts’ State House News Service: NEW GROUP PLEDGES “STRONGER CHORUS OF VOICES” FOR BIZ: Business groups have launched a new effort aimed at getting Beacon Hill leaders to more clearly focus on job retention and creation policies. Jobs for Massachusetts Now, an offshoot of the five-month-old Jobs for New England Now, was created in part because business leaders feel there’s not been enough effort by state and local policymakers to make Massachusetts more competitive for businesses and development. “We have come together to encourage policymakers to make decisions that will help businesses recover during this fragile time and hopefully get more Massachusetts residents off the unemployment line,” Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, said in a statement. The other coalition members are Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM), South Shore Chamber of Commerce, Metro South Chamber of Commerce, and National Federation of Independent Businesses Massachusetts. John Regan, executive vice president of AIM, said: “Many business leaders believe that a stronger chorus of voices is needed to let state legislators and state officials know that every move they make impacts local businesses and in turn, affects business owners’ ability to provide jobs. That is why we decided to join this organization.” Massachusetts has lost more than 109,000 jobs in the past year and its unemployment rate in July was 8.8 percent, up from 8.6 percent in June. The Legislature’s Economic Development and Emerging Technologies Committee kicked off a four-stop “listening tour” in April to hear testimony about potential pro-growth policies. The tour ended in July. The group plans to highlight studies, opinion pieces, news and commentary on its website www.jobsformassachusetts.org. Its executive director is veteran lobbyist Paul Moran of the Dewey Square Group, a veteran state government analyst who has worked on behalf of health care, insurance and municipal interests during his career.