Job Growth By State Since The "End" of the Reession

Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary (BLS.gov)

If you click on the graph to the right and expand or zoom in on Connecticut you can barely see a tiny bit of blue.  That blue represents job growth since the MAX jobs lost point during the 2007 Recession as of this past May 2011.  Note it’s the 2007 Recession and we are now obviously in 2011.  The top of the blue is the worst unemployment rate and the top of the red is where we are as of May this year.  Keep zooming in, I assure you there is SOME blue in the Connecticut bar, (yes a pun).

Also note only one state is worse in job growth.  Louisiana.

If you google.com “companies leaving Connecticut” it returns: 59,100,000 results in (0.10 seconds) including a link for this resource guide on everything you need to know, leavingconnecticut.com

To this I add, how could the housing market in Connecticut ever recover if we don’t improve our job growth?

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) will release their April survey on Tuesday, June 14th. Here is a pre-release of the employment results from NFIB: NFIB Jobs Statement: On Main Street, Job Creation is Collapsing

“After solid job gains early in the year, progress has slowed to a trickle … meaningful job creation on Main Street has collapsed.
…
[I]ndications of minimal future growth include the fact that in the next three months, 13 percent plan to increase employment (down 3 points), and 8 percent plan to reduce their workforce (up 2 points). That yields a seasonally adjusted net negative 1 percent of owners planning to create new jobs, a 3 point loss from April.
…
“Overall, reports of job reductions have returned to historically normal levels. However, the percent of owners hiring has not recovered to levels historically observed after two years of expansion. With one in four owners still reporting ‘weak sales’ as their No. 1 business problem, there is little need to add employees …”

Rapidly Approaching Category 5

http://www.nap.edu/catalog/12999.html

Executive Summary

A Few Factoids

Thirty years ago, ten percent of California’s general fund went to higher
education and three percent to prisons. Today, nearly eleven percent
goes to prisons and eight percent to higher education.1

China is now second in the world in its publication of biomedical
research articles, having recently surpassed Japan, the United Kingdom,
Germany, Italy, France, Canada and Spain.2

The United States now ranks 22nd among the world’s nations in the
density of broadband Internet penetration and 72nd in the density of
mobile telephony subscriptions.3

In 2009, 51 percent of United States patents were awarded to non-
United States companies.4

The World Economic Forum ranks the United States 48th in quality of
mathematics and science education.5

Of Wal-Mart’s 6,000 suppliers, 5,000 are in China.6

There are sixteen energy companies in the world with larger reserves
than the largest United States company.7

IBM’s once promising PC business is now owned by a Chinese
company.8

The legendary Bell Laboratories is now owned by a French company.9

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (computer manufacturing) employs
more people than the worldwide employment of Apple, Dell, Microsoft,
Intel and Sony combined.10

No new nuclear plants and no new petroleum refineries have been built
in the United States in a third of a century, a period characterized by
intermittent energy-related crises.11

Only four of the top ten companies receiving United States patents last
year were United States companies.12

United States consumers spend significantly more on potato chips than
the government devotes to energy R&D.13

The world’s largest airport is now in China.14

In 2000 the number of foreign students studying the physical sciences
and engineering in United States graduate schools for the first time
surpassed the number of United States students.15

Federal funding of research in the physical sciences as a fraction of GDP
fell by 54 percent in the 25 years after 1970. The decline in engineering
funding was 51 percent.16

GE has now located the majority of its R&D personnel outside the
United States.17

Manufacturing employment in the U.S. computer industry is now lower
than when the first personal computer was built in 1975.18

In the 2009 rankings of the Information Technology and Innovation
Foundation the U.S. was in sixth place in global innovation-based
competitiveness, but ranked 40th in the rate of change over the past
decade.19

China has now replaced the United States as the world’s number one
high-technology exporter.20

In 1998 China produced about 20,000 research articles, but by 2006
the output had reached 83,000 . . . overtaking Japan, Germany and the
U.K.21

Eight of the ten global companies with the largest R&D budgets have
established R&D facilities in China, India or both.22

During a recent period during which two high-rise buildings were constructed
in Los Angeles, over 5,000 were built in Shanghai.23

In a survey of global firms planning to build new R&D facilities, 77 percent
say they will build in China or India.24

China has a $196 billion positive trade balance. The United States’ balance
is negative $379 billion.25

Sixty-nine percent of United States public school students in fifth
through eighth grade are taught mathematics by a teacher without a
degree or certificate in mathematics.26

Ninety-three percent of United States public school students in fifth
through eighth grade are taught the physical sciences by a teacher
without a degree or certificate in the physical sciences.27

(editor: Any wonder that our kids are not getting turned on to math and science!)

Of the Big Three American automakers, one is now owned by a firm in
Italy (after having been previously sold by a German firm), and another
is 60 percent owned by the United States government.28

The United States ranks 27th among developed nations in the proportion
of college students receiving undergraduate degrees in science or
engineering.29

Forty-nine percent of United States adults do not know how long it
takes for the Earth to revolve around the Sun.30

The United States graduates more visual arts and performing arts
majors than engineers.31

The total annual federal investment in research in mathematics, the
physical sciences and engineering is now equal to the increase in United
States healthcare costs every nine weeks.32

Bethlehem Steel marked its 100th birthday by declaring bankruptcy.33

The United States ranks 20th in high school completion rate among
industrialized nations and 16th in college completion rate.34

In less than 15 years, China has moved from 14th place to second place
in published research articles (behind the United States).35

China’s real annual GDP growth over the past thirty years has been 10
percent.36

According to OECD data the United States ranks 24th among thirty
wealthy countries in life expectancy at birth.37

For the next 5-7 years the United States, due to budget limitations, will
only be able to send astronauts to the Space Station by purchasing rides
on Russian rockets.38

The average American K-12 student spends four hours a day in front of
a TV.39

China’s Tsinghua and Peking Universities are the two largest suppliers
of students who receive PhD’s—in the United States.40

Sixty-eight percent of U.S. state prison inmates are high school dropouts
or otherwise did not qualify for a diploma.41

The United States has fallen from first to eleventh place in the OECD in
the fraction 25-34 year olds that has graduated high school. The older
portion of the U.S. workforce ranks first among OECD populations of
the same age.42

When MIT put its course materials on the worldwide web, over half of
the users were outside the United States.43
Six of the ten best-selling vehicles in the United States are now foreign
models.44

Since 1995 the United States share of world shipments of photovoltaics
has fallen from over 40 percent to well under 10 percent—while the
overall market has grown by nearly a factor of one hundred.45

Among manufacturers of photovoltaics, wind turbines and advanced
batteries, the top ten global firms by market capitalization include two,
one and one United States firms, respectively. The other firms are from
China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Spain, Taiwan and the U.K.46
An American company recently opened the world’s largest private solar
R&D facility . . . in Xian, China.47

By 2008, public spending in the United States on energy R&D had
declined to less than half what it was three decades ago in real purchasing
power. By 2005, private investment had declined to less than
one-third of the total.48

A single Japanese automobile model constitutes about half of the U.S.
hybrid market.49

Last year Mitsubishi introduced the world’s first mass-produced allelectric
car.50

A Japanese company produces over 75 percent of the world’s nickelmetal
hydride batteries used in vehicles.51

Japan has 1524 miles of high speed rail; France has 1163; and China
just passed 742 miles. The United States has 225. China has 5612 miles
now under construction and one plant produces 200 trains each year
capable of operating at 217 mph. The United States has none under
construction.52

Roughly half of America’s outstanding public debt is now foreignowned—
with China the largest holder.53

The increase in cost of higher education in America has substantially
surpassed the growth in family income in recent decades. United States
current and former students have amassed $633 billion in student loan
debt.54

There are 60 new nuclear power plants currently being built in the
world. One of these is in the United States.55

In 2008, 770,000 people worked in the United States correction sector,
a number which is projected to grow. During the same year there were
880,000 workers in the entire United States automobile manufacturing
sector.56

Between 1996 and 1999, 157 new drugs were approved in the United
States. In a corresponding period ten years later the number dropped
to 74.57

All the National Academies Gathering Storm committee’s recommendations
could have been fully implemented with the sum America spends
on cigarettes each year—with $60 billion left over.58

Youths between the ages of 8 and 18 average seven-and-a-half hours
a day in front of video games, television and computers—often
multi-tasking.59

In 2007 China became second only to the United States in the estimated
number of people engaged in scientific and engineering research and
development.60

In January 2010, China’s BGI made the biggest purchase of genome
sequencing equipment ever.61

In May 2010, a supercomputer produced in China was ranked the
world’s second-fastest.62

Almost one-third of U.S. manufacturing companies responding to
a recent survey say they are suffering from some level of skills
shortages.63

According to the ACT College Readiness report, 78 percent of high
school graduates did not meet the readiness benchmark levels for one
or more entry-level college courses in mathematics, science, reading
and English.64

The Bibb on Fire.

The attack ads Fedele is running bring you back decades ago to a failed Southern Textile Company on it’s last legs.

But let’s talk about present day Connecticut, after all that is what this race is about, today and tomorrow in Connecticut.

Fedele has been part of, and a very quiet part of an administration that has presided over a grand mass exodus of Connecticut businesses out of the state many to the South.

This was not of Fedele’s nor Rell’s making, it started long long before they came to power. And the super-majorities and past majorities of Democrats in Hartford own the lion share of the blame.

And I understand he was Lt Governor and it’s a quiet post mainly on call for when the Governor leaves the state or gets arrested. But if Fedele was quite the man of action he claims to be he could have made himself a pain in the neck in Hartford.

He could have been a lot more vocal. He could have been a leader, leaders don’t wait, they lead. Clearly Rell was not up to the task.

Rell can barely find the energy to to hold a press conference if Fedele wanted to grab the spotlight and force the glare of failure on Connecticut’s Government he could have. But he didn’t. He didn’t, now he is forcing the spotlight on Foley’s Bibb.

To hell with the Bibb! I don’t care about the Bibb, I care about UTC, GE, Goodrich, EB and I care about all of the smaller shops around the state that feed them. And there are thousands of them and when the big boys leave they will close down.

I am tired of hearing about a failed Southern Company.

Yes, Pratt can not move the jobs in Cheshire and East Hartford out of state……….till………….December of this year.

At best the union won a reprieve of 5 months. The union contract is up in November. And unless the union can force a Federal Judge to force UTC to sign a new contract the jobs are gone. Forcing UTC to sign a contract would be unprecedented even for the Obama Administration.

Rather then chase this particular lost cause with more lawsuits, we should examine once again why this state has fewer businesses now than 20 years ago, the ONLY STATE IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY THAT HAS THAT SAD FACT.

Could it be because?

Highest electricity rates in the country?
Highest exodus of young people leaving their native state in the country?
Highest taxation rate in the country?
Looming state budget deficits of 9 Billion $ and rising with no coherent plan to address it, other then raising tolls on I-95?
Regulations every where you turn with little help from the state on how to comply?

Another large international company recently told it’s workers in Connecticut, “Oh we don’t move work into Connecticut!”.

Our reputation in the world of business is well known, filling lawsuits won’t improve our business climate. Temporary tax breaks to selected businesses won’t cut it either, they leave as soon as the break expire.

It’s way past time, decades past to address the fundamental disdain our state government shows to business.

Politicians played a cynical game over the last 20 years. They know perfectly well it is their energy, taxation, spending and regulatory policies that have rendered Connecticut’s business climate intolerable. INTOLERABLE!

Nov 2, it’s our turn.