CBIA Reaction to September 2021 Employment Report
The state’s largest business organization issued the following response to today’s release of the September 2021 employment report.
“The September employment gains, while welcome, do not meet our expectations for the state’s overall recovery,” CBIA president and CEO Chris DiPentima said today.
“We are leading the nation in addressing the health crisis but are not keeping pace with the region or most of the country in our job recovery—year-to-date growth rate is 2.5%, the slowest of the New England states and a point below the overall U.S. rate.
“Connecticut’s unemployment rate is 6.8%, the highest in the region and two percentage points higher than the national rate.
“And, most concerning of all, there are 70,000 unfilled job openings in Connecticut, yet we have 86,600 fewer people working than in February last year.
”Employers are sounding the alarm loud and clear—the labor shortage is the number one problem facing the state’s pandemic recovery and our long-term economic outlook.
“The challenge is this, how do we get people back into the workforce? The jobs are there and it’s clear that we need a more aggressive approach to resolve this issue.
“CBIA and the business community are ready to work with the administration and the legislature to implement significant policy solutions for getting people back to work and realizing Connecticut’s tremendous potential.”
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 email or call Ali Warshavsky (860.244.1929).
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