Governing – Why are some states losing people, even as the country continues to grow? Jobs, jobs, jobs (and, in some cases, aging).
Most states are gaining residents, but a few have lost population in recent years. None are seeing major losses, but it looks as if some states’ populations will continue to stagnate or slowly decline in the years to come.
The CT Mirror – It’s relatively easy to find consensus on where Connecticut must invest to improve its business climate. The bigger challenge for state government, said economists and business leaders Wednesday, will be to find the resources to invest — in transportation, information technology and higher education — as the cost of public-sector retirement benefits spikes over the next decade to 15 years.
Hartford Business Journal – Connecticut’s economy is struggling. But this is a struggle long in the making: It has been true since 1990.
For 25 years, Connecticut’s economy has essentially failed to create additional jobs; from 1989 to 2009, Connecticut had the worst jobs record in the nation. Worse, the jobs lost over the years have often been replaced with jobs with lower wages and benefits, as Comptroller Kevin Lembo has highlighted.
Seeking Alpha –
Hartford Business Journal – “Connecticut has had steady improvement but not very strong improvement,” says Fred Carstensen, director of the Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis at UConn.
The Greek Debt Crisis and the Eurozone
UConn Today – Eurozone leaders have agreed to an economic bailout for Greece that keeps the debt-ridden nation in the 19-country common currency pact, but only if the Greek government implements a host of deeply unpopular austerity measures, including cuts to public pensions and sales tax increases. The total rescue effort could amount to 87 billion euros in emergency funding over the next three years including an immediate emergency 10 billion euro loan to help Greece keep its fragile banking system afloat and repay loans due this month.
Connecticut Mirror – There are bright spots in Connecticut’s sluggish economy, even as Connecticut’s key manufacturing sector has lagged, a recent federal report says. Those bright spots include healthcare, finance and professional services like information technology, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis says.
Flat Lining – Connecticut’s Disappearing Economic Growth
Connecticut Center of Economic Analysis – In early June, the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) revised national 2015Q1 GDP estimates, including, unfortunately, strong downward revisions for Connecticut’s Real Gross State Product, wiping out the strong growth reported in CCEA’s previous Outlook.