CBIA Response to December 2022 Employment Report

The state’s largest business organization issued the following response to today’s release of the December 2022 employment report. 

“The pace of Connecticut’s job growth is simply not meeting the demands of our economy,” CBIA president and CEO Chris DiPentima said.

“At 2%, our 2022 job growth rate is one of the region’s slowest and trails the national rate by a full percentage point, while our pandemic recovery rate is 89%, well behind the U.S. at 106%.

“We have 102,000 job openings in the state—yet where are the workers? Our labor force has declined by 53,700 people since February 2020, more than one-third of the region’s losses.

“Even if every unemployed person was hired tomorrow, we’d still have over 21,000 unfilled positions.

“The pace of Connecticut’s job growth is simply not meeting the demands of our economy.”

CBIA’s Chris DiPentima

“Connecticut has one of the highest labor participation rates in the country and one of the lowest quits rates, highlighting that employers are providing meaningful career opportunities.

“Our workforce development efforts must go beyond skills training and encouraging people to rejoin the labor force—it’s critical that we also focus on attracting more people to Connecticut.

“CBIA’s 2023 Transform Connecticut policy solutions target the factors—including those that predate the pandemic—driving the worker shortage.

“Those solutions include tax relief, providing more housing options, student loan assistance, occupational licensing reform, and immigration reform.

“We are encouraged that Gov. Ned Lamont and legislative leaders agree that transforming the economy is a top priority.

“It’s critical that we work together to embrace policy solutions that will address the labor shortage and make Connecticut a more affordable place to live and work.”

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CBIA is Connecticut’s largest business organization, with thousands of member companies, small and large, representing a diverse range of industries from every part of the state. For more information, please contact Scott Beaulieu (860.244.1929).