Chamber members told to stay the course in poor economy

The Central Connecticut Chambers of Commerce hosted its Eggs & Issues Breakfast Meeting on March 19 at the Chippanee Golf Club. The event was sponsored by Capital Workforce Partners. From the left are: Fernando Rosa; John Leone, Jr. - Central Connecticut Chambers of Commerce; Joan McDonald, Commissioner of DECD & Community Affairs; Bob Santy, President; Connecticut Economic Resource Center; Marie O'Brien - President, Connecticut Development Authority; Tony Matiolli - Valley Bank; and Alex Johnson.

Development officials preached a message of staying the course to navigate the nation’s choppy economic waters. Joan McDonald, commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development, said whether the nation is in a recession or on the brink of a recession, there’s only one thing for certain.

“These are uncertain times, economically,” said McDonald, who spoke during a March 19 breakfast meeting sponsored by the Central Connecticut Chambers of Commerce. McDonald was joined by Bob Santy, president of the Connecticut Economic Resource Center, and Marie O’Brien, president of the Connecticut Development Agency, for the morning. While the speakers touched on a few issues, the conversation never strayed far from the state of the economy.

McDonald said, about every ten years, the economy takes a down turn. But, she said, history shows that the country always comes out of it.

“We do have to stay the course and keep looking ahead,” said McDonald. McDonald said Connecticut is in a situation where the glass is half empty, but also half full. “There is some good news, but there are also some real uncertainties,” she said.
Among the good news of which McDonald cited was the job growth in the state last year. McDonald said the state gained over 17,000 new jobs last year. (An Associated Press report stated the number of jobs in the state fell by 2,200 in January from December, but overall was up 13,100 from last year. The leisure and hospitality industry along with the trade, transportation and utility industries lost the most jobs, losing 1,800 and 1,400 jobs respectively. Jobs in government along with educational and health services made the most gains, increasing by 1,000 and 800 respectively, the report stated.)

McDonald said the state’s unemployment rate has held steady, while the numbers of jobs has grown. The state’s unemployment rate was 5.3 percent in January, according to statistics on the state Department of Labor’s website— a slight increase from July when the rate was 4.5 percent.

Bristol’s unemployment rate was above the average in January at 6.1 percent. McDonald said, during the recession of the early 1990s, the state’s unemployment rate peaked at 7.5 percent, and Connecticut lost about 10 percent of its workforce.
The bottom line in economic development is jobs, said O’Brien. “We measure ourselves first and foremost by the number of jobs,” she said.

That bottom line is expected to continue growing in the state. McDonald said thousands of new jobs are projected, including 2,000 new jobs at the state’s two casinos.

McDonald was questioned the kind of new jobs expected. “It’s good news that there are more, but what are they?” asked Cathryn Addy, president of Tunxis Community College.

“It is a blend,” responded McDonald. McDonald said there’s growth in education and financial services. She said in the early 1990s a large number of the jobs lost were in the manufacturing field. She said currently manufacturing jobs are down, because of “baby boomers” retiring and the state not having enough replacement workers.

Santy said the way to approach an economic downturn is to buck historic government trends. He said, historically, government has cut programs meant to encourage economic growth. An economic downturn, Santy said, is a time when support for economic growth programs are needed the most.

To encourage development, McDonald said the state has created a new economic strategy. We do have a new way looking at how we develop our economy,” she said.

As part of the new strategy, she explained, the state has invested 4.5 million in bonding for re-development of brownfields, and officials are looking into ways to keep young professionals the state. Also, McDonald said, the state will continue with the Responsible Growth Task Force. The task force was created in part to streamline the regulatory process for developers, she said. “We know time is money,” McDonald said.

And so it begins again

Another chapter in Bristol’s downtown has begun as the Bristol Centre Mall is torn down.



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