Jobs For Connecticut Now

According to the Boston Herald, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick is looking to jump start economic development in his home state with his newly created Economic Development Planning Council.

The state-appointed council aims to develop our state through a “growth plan” which lays out at least 50 separate actions, from increasing access to science and technology-focused internships to working to lower health-care costs.

The most appealing part of this just-leaked plan includes the council picking, “three to five cutting-edge industries that business and government will work together on to promote in Massachusetts.” Technology is often recognized as one of the most innovative industries, and this initiative alone sounds like an incredible opportunity to increase jobs in the technology sector.

While this plan is just a blueprint, as mentioned above, it does not specifically say how the council plans to reach these goals. They plan to meet next year at this time to disclose what was accomplished, what wasn’t, what still needs to be done and what, if anything, went wrong. Jobs for New England Now hopes for the best for this initiative from the Governor, and looks forward to the results at this time next year.

According to a recent article in the Wicked Local, there were quite a few strange events that took place in the Massachusetts business world this year. James Bond esque press conferences to a woman’s wrath aimed at Steve Jobs, 2011 was quite a year indeed.

Take a minute and check out a few of the more bizarre stories from the article:

“Oddest press conference venue: Berkshire East, the former Thunder Mountain ski area in Charlemont, trumpeted two options for reporters to get to the unveiling of its new 900-kilowatt wind turbine. They could ride to the top of the mountain in a vehicle caravan – or ride the chairlift and then hop on a zip line to get to the windmill. I’m not sure when press conferences turned into James Bond movies, but I can’t say it’s necessarily a bad thing.”

“Most unexpected publicity booster: It’s rare when one of our corn mazes makes national news. But it’s also rare when someone needs to call 911 with a cellphone to get rescued from one. That’s exactly what happened in October, when a family entered the Connors Farm maze in Danvers and couldn’t find an exit as the sun started to set. The misadventure led to a seemingly endless stream of interviews for farm owner Bob Connor, who appeared on ‘Good Morning America’ and was quoted in newspapers as far away as California. The coverage continued after another couple called 911 for help with finding a way out of an apple orchard in Stow a week later.”

“Worst consequence from an iPhone glitch: Many people probably welcomed the extra sleep when a software snafu prevented iPhone alarms from ringing on New Year’s Day. Not Lindsay Garvey. The Somerville waitress publicly blamed her iPhone – and, in fact, Steve Jobs – after she was fired, purportedly for sleeping in after a long night’s work and not getting to her restaurant job on time Jan. 1. I can’t say if Jobs deserved Garvey’s wrath – he could be chuckling about it in heaven right now. But I can say that I hope we all have a smoother beginning to 2012 than Garvey faced at the start of 2011.”

Read the entire article.

Christmas came early for Massachusetts industry, as 14 projects were approved for participation in the Economic Development Incentive Program (EDIP) last week. The projects approved by the Economic Assistance Coordinating Council (EACC) will create over 719 new jobs and retain 2,912 existing ones. The expansion projects include Red Hat Incorporated, which serves global enterprises with technology and services. According to the Canton Patch, Red Hat will create 181 new jobs and retain 233 current jobs, with private investment totaling over $50 million.

Another company that stands to benefit from the program is Cell Signaling Technologies, a business established in Beverly, MA with over 370 employees worldwide. The Canton Patch reports that Cell Signaling expects to create 100 new jobs while retaining the 306 employees they currently have in Massachusetts.

In a press release from the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, Secretary Greg Bialecki says the EDIP is designed to “attract significant private sector investment and spur economic activity throughout the Commonwealth.”  For a full list of approved projects, click here.

This week Jobs for New England Now posted three new blogs. The first, Traveling With Tech, lists the top airports for tech travel this holiday season. The second, Decline in Unemployment Rates, sheds a glimmer of hope on the Massachusetts economy . The third, Broadband Technology Is Bringing Back Jobs, discusses the positive economic benefit s of broadband technology.

Below is a brief list of news articles we posted this week:

Braintree Patch: New State Employment Numbers Show Positive Movement for Braintree – Braintree saw its unemployment rate decline from October to November, from 6.8 percent to 6.2 percent, a sign that hiring is on the rise in certain sectors of the economy on the South Shore and also continuing to improve overall.

Worcester Business Journal: Worcester Area Unemployment Falls – The greater Worcester area’s unemployment rate fell sharply from 7.3 percent to 6.8 percent in November as more than 600 people found jobs and the labor force shrank by nearly 1,000. The rate has fallen from 8.6 percent over the past year, according to the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.

Connecticut Mirror: Unemployment drops to 8.4 percent, but that’s not the whole story – The state announced today that the unemployment rate dropped three-tenths of a point to 8.4 percent in November, the lowest it’s been since June 2009. But behind that simple, oft-quoted statistic is a complicated calculation, based on surveys. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s office issued a cautiously optimistic statement that pronounced the number “encouraging,” yet acknowledged “more needs to be done” to promote job growth.

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Just in time for the Holidays, Massachusetts’ residents’ days have brightened with news that the unemployment rate fell from 6.8 percent to 6.4 percent in November. In Marlborough, residents learned also learned that not only did the unemployment rate drop to 7.0 percent, the lowest it has been since December 2008, but that the income tax rate will be lowered. Additionally, in Worcester, the jobless rate fell from 7.3 percent to 6.8 percent and in Taunton the rate is now 7.5 percent, down from 9.1 percent.

In these tough economic times, having a job and saving money is a big issue for families and individuals – especially this close to the holiday season with gift giving a source of spending and headaches for those feeling the economic crunch. With news of Massachusetts businesses adding 5,000 new jobs in the month of November, hopefully some families are experiencing the holiday in higher spirits than those of previous years.

While this does show signs of a slightly recovering economy, it points to the fact that there is still room for improvement. Many in our communities and towns across the state and region remain unemployed, and we need to work to encourage policies that support small business growth and employment opportunities.

There’s no denying that the lagging economy has been a big obstacle for that past several years. The government has tried many things to help motivate innovation and growth, but it seems that these attempts have had minimal success. However, there appears to be hope in one private industry, which has been bringing jobs and infrastructure back to the U.S.

A recent MFR Tech article Bringing It Back Home: The Resurgence of U.S. Manufacturing, says that the U.S. is still “a hotbed of expertise and innovation as well as one of the biggest technology markets for enterprise and consumers in the world.” Mobile and broadband technologies continue to expand and innovate at exponential speeds. It is this expansion and innovation that has been a major factor in creating growth and opportunities for our stagnant economy.

The article goes on to say that “…many of the best new companies in the telecommunications industry have come from the U.S., in large part due to the combination of engineering innovation and manufacturing capabilities available right here on our own doorstep,” and that, “Silicon Valley is possibly at its most innovative today, and this is nowhere more evident than in mobile broadband data.”

Although we had lost some ground to Europe in past years, the article says that, “that trend has reversed itself in recent years,” and we are quickly regaining our clout in the expanding “tech world”. If we are interested in fostering economic growth and recovering from these last few sluggish years,  it is essential that we focus on the innovative and profitable tech industry.

If you’re planning on traveling with your favorite technology this holiday season, you may want to read the Mac World review of the top 20 tech friendly airports. The 20 nationwide airports were judged in the categories of average number of electrical outlets, USB ports, charging stations, internet kiosks, work desks that it offers per gate, and relative speed of and access to WiFi. The helpful additions to these airports make traveling this holiday season a breeze.

Below are the top 5 tech friendly airports:

1. Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport (DFW)
2. New York JFK International (JFK)
3. Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)
4. Detroit Metro Airport (DTW)
5. Sacramento International Airport (SMF)

See the ratings!

Happy Holidays!

We’re all hoping that the economy here in Connecticut and nationwide picks up in the next year.  Unfortunately,  Steven Lanza, an economist from the University of Connecticut, has some disappointing news. According to an article in Business Week the average forecast for national economic growth calls for about a 2 percent increase in early 2012 and then a very small bump up to 2.5 percent by the end of the year, which isn’t as much as we might like.  ”Such flaccid growth, if it holds, won’t do much to buoy jobs in the Nutmeg State” Lanza said.

According to Lanza, the forecast for Connecticut doesn’t look so hot. However, Lanza mentioned the possibility of a small victory noting that there could be a chance that the national economy may pick up slightly, which could be, in his words, “…sufficient to provide steam for Connecticut to actually pile on some substantial job gains.”

The economy in New England has a long way to go, but with innovation it could definitely take a turn for the better and surprise us all. Here’s hoping for a boost in 2012!

Spectrum legislation approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee may now be found in the broad jobs bill introduced by Speaker Boehner late last week. According to the National Journal, this addition was strategic because it includes legislation on incentive auctions, which could give the FCC the authority to auction off broadcast TV airwaves to the wireless companies who need access to more spectrum.

Although it is likely that this bill, which was passed by the House late Tuesday night, will find its final resting place on the floor of the Senate, the immediacy to push spectrum auction language into the legislation says many things about our ever changing social, political and economic atmosphere. Broadband is vastly changing the way we live, do business, and, now, even legislate. Without high-speed broadband, corporations do not function as efficiently. The government knows this and it is prepared to use this as leverage during the incentive auctions.

If broadband is included in national economic reform should we consider how increased access to broadband could affect our local economy? Our thought is, yes we should! Access to broadband is not a luxury anymore, it is required to create jobs, stabilize the economy, educate our youth, and even stay connected in ever globalizing world. We should use broadband as the vital resource it is. Just like coal was the fuel to the industrial revolution, harnessing the power of broadband may just be our way to bigger and brighter future.

Have you started your holiday shopping yet? If you’re planning to buy gifts online this week, you aren’t alone.

Web retailers geared up for a flood of online shoppers this week. The week kicked off with “Green Monday”  a day similar to “Cyber Monday”, the online shopping day on the Monday after Thanksgiving made famous for its many online deals.

The second week of December tends to be one of the biggest online spending periods of the year. Combine that with Free Shipping Day, this Friday, December 16, and we’ll likely see some of the heaviest online sales to date. For more info about Free Shipping Day, click here.

Check out The Hill’s “Hillicon Valley” blog for more about the spike in online sales. That post, plus the story of how “Green Monday” got its name, is here.