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For Immediate Release
BUSINESS EXECUTIVES ACROSS THE STATE SAY Business executives across the state say the Connecticut legislature must make creating jobs its top priority. The findings of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA) 2005 Annual Membership Survey, released today, underscore the need for government leaders to encourage economic growth and job creation in Connecticut by reducing business costs, improving the state’s transportation and energy infrastructures, and enhancing workplace readiness skills. “This is one of several recent regional surveys showing that Connecticut’s economy is facing serious economic challenges that must be addressed,” said John R. Rathgeber, CBIA executive vice president and COO. “The business community and Connecticut residents are concerned about the same things – jobs and taxes. State leaders must do everything in their power to encourage job-creating investments and get our businesses moving ahead, so they can create good job opportunities for our citizens.” More than half (53 percent) of the CBIA survey respondents rate Connecticut as either poor or fair for investment and job creation. And 48 percent say the situation is worsening. The majority (83 percent) of business executives say the state is doing a fair or poor job of addressing the overall costs of doing business in Connecticut. In fact, 81 percent say overall costs for businesses are worsening, along with the state’s regulatory climate (54 percent). Only 1 percent of respondents believe there is slight improvement. Business leaders (62 percent), however, are more confident that state government will make the tough decisions that will help improve Connecticut’s business climate. That result is up from 44 percent last year and 29 percent in 2003. “As the public focus has shifted to the economic challenges facing our state, business leaders believe that our elected officials will respond,” said Rathgeber. “It’s critical that their response centers on making Connecticut’s business climate more competitive in the global marketplace.” When asked about the most important problems facing the state, 29 percent said the overall cost of doing business in Connecticut and 16 percent said taxes. Other problems noted include health care costs (11 percent), transportation (8 percent) and the availability of qualified workers (8 percent). “Businesses are sounding the alarm that anti-competitive, anti-jobs actions being taken or even just being seriously considered by lawmakers are having a negative effect on the economy, job growth and opportunities for expansion,” said Joseph F. Brennan, CBIA senior vice president of public policy. More than half (55 percent) of business executives said if they were to expand or relocate their businesses, they would do it outside of Connecticut. That number has gone up significantly over the past few years. Respondents said the taxes that are most harmful to their businesses and that most prevent growth are the real and personal property taxes (35 percent) and the corporate income tax (20 percent). Executives said there are several things the state could do to encourage them to expand their operations in the state. Sixty-nine percent said the state could reduce workplace costs, including those affecting health care benefits and workers’ compensation; 51 percent said reduce business taxes; and 41 percent said improve the regulatory climate for businesses. “Results from this survey and the recent Connecticut Economic Resource Center Inc., report and UConn poll all indicate the same thing, that something needs to be done to improve the state’s business climate to help create jobs,” says Peter Gioia, CBIA economist. Transportation and energy Connecticut’s transportation system has been identified as an impediment to economic growth, and business leaders believe the state needs to do more to improve it. Respondents say the state’s top transportation priorities should be to expand road capacity (61 percent) and improve the mass transit system (42 percent). Paying for these improvements, according to respondents, could be done by redirecting existing transportation-related taxes and fees that are currently used for non-transportation purposes (56 percent), and instituting electronic tolls on the state’s major highways (28 percent). Connecticut’s energy prices are among the highest in the nation, and businesses have taken many actions to reduce their energy usage. More than half of respondents (63 percent) said they have updated their heating and cooling systems and replaced existing light fixtures with more energy-efficient models. Another 42 percent said they have implemented energy-efficient procedures in their businesses, and nearly three-quarters (73 percent) said they are willing to take other steps to conserve energy. Health care costs Despite rising costs, nearly all businesses (97 percent) surveyed said they provide their employees with health care benefits. Three-quarters (75 percent) of executives said rising health care costs are an important factor in deciding whether or not to hire additional workers. The majority of respondents (77 percent) said they have seen double-digit increases in their health care benefit costs over the past year. Businesses trying to get a handle on these increases have tried several ways to reduce costs. Thirty-eight percent report increasing employees’ deductibles, co-pays or out-of-pocket costs; 34 percent changed plans to reduce costs; while 30 percent increased employees’ share of health benefit premiums. Workforce When asked about the benefits of doing businesses in Connecticut, 37 percent said the state’s greatest business asset is its location along the New York-Boston corridor, followed by 17 percent identifying the state’s skilled workforce. Last year, 30 percent of respondents said a skilled workforce was the state’s greatest asset. “Businesses are finding it increasingly difficult to hire qualified workers to fill specific positions, especially high-tech and skilled-labor jobs, which are in demand in Connecticut,” said Gioia. “The retirement of the baby boom generation in a few years will lead to a critical shortage of workers with the skills necessary to compete in today’s high-tech global economy. We need to make sure that employees entering the workforce can help drive the innovation and productivity gains that our economy needs to remain competitive in the global marketplace.” CBIA is Connecticut’s largest business organization, with 10,000 members. ### For a copy of the CBIA Membership Survey, please visit www.cbia.com/newsroom/surveys. For more information contact Nancy Andrews, CBIA media relations manager, at 860-244-1957 or andrewsn@cbia.com. 350 Church
Street · Hartford, CT 06103-1126 · cbia.com/newsroom
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