Jobs For Connecticut Now

From the Hartford Courant: ”This one has to hurt — a Waterbury software company has moved to Westchester County, NY, bolting just as Dannel Malloy is announcing that Connecticut is “open for business.” GOP Chair Chris Healy accurately notes that it’s particularly painful to lose jobs to New York.   To see the full article click here!

From Republican American:  ”Supporters of paid sick leave are feeling better because the legislature’s Judiciary Committee backed the proposed mandate Tuesday.

The committee’s 21-15 vote moves the controversial legislation one step closer to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s desk and possibly making state history.

The state’s Democratic governor reaffirmed his pledge to sign a paid sick bill into law hours before the committee’s vote. No other state has enacted such a law.

The bill applies to businesses with 50 or more employees. It requires covered employers to provide paid sick leave to primarily hourly employees

The legislation also specifies how sick leave is accrued, the purposes for which it can be used, and penalties for employers who violate the proposed law.

The Judiciary Committee’s debate lasted approximately 20 minutes. The basic arguments have not changed since legislation first surfaced four years ago.

Opponents of the bill said once again that the legislation was anti-business. Rep. Robert C. Sampson, R-Wolcott, said anyone who claims otherwise is deluding themselves.”  To see the full article click here!

From the Norwich Bulletin: “Eastern Connecticut job markets continued to struggle last month as the state lost ground.  

The Norwich/New London labor market shed 1,000 jobs in March compared with revised figures for February, the Connecticut Department of Labor reported Monday. The market had 127,100 jobs in March.

Norwich/New London had 2,200 fewer jobs last month than in March 2010, according to department statistics. The Norwich/New London year-to-year figures are the worst record of all Connecticut labor markets. While Waterbury has the state’s highest jobless rate at 12.2 percent, its market is 1,000 jobs larger than March 2010.  

New London County’s unemployment rate was 9.2 percent with 13,800 people out of work last month. That was up from 9.1 percent a year earlier, although the number of jobless stayed the same. The jobless rate was 9.6 percent in February, according to revised figures, with 14,400 people out of work.”  To see the full article click here!

From the Daily Journal: “Connecticut’s new economic development chief said Monday she and other state officials are working up the details of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s signature economic development program even while the legislature considers its merits before voting on the proposal.

The plan, now before the legislature, would combine several state tax credits to encourage five businesses to create a total of at least 1,000 jobs within two years.

Commissioner Catherine Smith said in an interview with The Associated Press that she and others in the administration are developing standards for companies seeking to participate in Malloy’s “First Five” program. She said the state has received numerous inquiries from companies and state officials are drawing up standards to select the five.

“We’re working on the criteria that we would apply to those companies, as well, so that we have a fair and equitable system for determining who the first five actually are,” she said.”  To see the full article click here!

From the Day: ”Connecticut’s jobless rate inched higher in March as the state’s labor markets reported a loss of 6,000 jobs – wiping out the same number of jobs that were gained in the previous month.

The Connecticut jobless rate of 9.1 percent in March is a slight increase over February’s rate of 9 percent, according to the state Department of Labor, which issues the monthly Labor Situation report on jobless figures and other economic data. The U.S. jobless rate in March stood at 8.8 percent.

“While the loss of jobs in March was a disappointment, this occurrence of monthly job losses and gains reinforces the importance of looking at trends in data over the course of several months,” said Salvatore DiPillo, the state agency’s labor statistics supervisor. “With this in mind, a number of other indicators do point to an improved Connecticut economy over the past year – fewer new claims for unemployment, fewer unemployed people and job growth overall, and a longer private sector workweek,” said the labor statistics supervisor.”  To see the full article click here!

From the Providence Journal: “Rhode Island’s unemployment rate dipped slightly in March to 11.0 percent from 11.2 percent in February, and the number of jobs in the state grew by 1,000.

However, the number of employed Rhode Island residents dropped by 900, to 508,900, and the size of the state’s labor force also shrank, by 1,900, to 571,900, according to data released Friday by the state Department of Labor and Training.

“Nobody is cheering, rolling out banners that we’re at 11 percent,” DLT Director Charles J. Fogarty said. “It’s much too high. We’re not happy with it. The governor’s not happy with it, and we have to double our efforts to get this economy moving at a faster pace.”

The national unemployment rate dropped to 8.8 percent in March from 8.9 percent.”  To see the full article click here!

From Forbes: ”A spokesman says that 550 job seekers have attended a Hartford job fair organized by AT&T Inc. to fill more than 130 available posts in Connecticut.

AT&T says the available management and technical jobs are the result of expanded wireless and U-verse businesses. AT&T U-verse uses fiber optic technology and computer networking to deliver digital TV, high-speed internet and digital phone services.

Available jobs at the fair on Thursday include installation technicians, retail sales and sales management, network repair technicians and door-to-door sales.

Unemployment in Connecticut was 9 percent in February, the most recent month for which statistics are available.”  To see the article click here!

From Forbes: ”A spokesman says that 550 job seekers have attended a Hartford job fair organized by AT&T Inc. to fill more than 130 available posts in Connecticut.

AT&T says the available management and technical jobs are the result of expanded wireless and U-verse businesses. AT&T U-verse uses fiber optic technology and computer networking to deliver digital TV, high-speed internet and digital phone services.

Available jobs at the fair on Thursday include installation technicians, retail sales and sales management, network repair technicians and door-to-door sales.

Unemployment in Connecticut was 9 percent in February, the most recent month for which statistics are available.”  To see the article click here!

From the Providence Journal: “West Warwick leads most of Rhode Island in the percentage of adult residents who collected unemployment benefits, according to figures from the state Department of Labor and Training.

More than 5 percent of the town’s adults, or nearly 1,200 people, collected benefits the week of Dec. 12, the latest information available shows.

Dawn Rockwell, 39, has been collecting unemployment benefits since she lost her job as a pharmacy technician in 2009. She shares a West Warwick apartment with her 19-year-old daughter, Courtney Ventura, who’s also out of work.

“I apply for two to three jobs a day,” Rockwell said. “I’m not getting anything.”

Overall, some 29,800 Rhode Islanders collected jobless benefits in mid-December.

Though West Warwick has been hit hard, unemployment has touched every corner of the state, according to a Providence Journal analysis of the Labor Department figures. Even in Barrington, the community with the lowest rate, slightly more than 2 percent of adults, or about 250 people, collected jobless benefits.

The analysis also shows that the number of claims being paid statewide soared in 2008, after state and federal programs extended the time someone could collect benefits from the standard 26 weeks to 99 weeks.”  To see the full article click here!