A new report from Connecticut Voices for Children says Connecticut has yet to fully recover six years after the end of the recession. The report adds, despite lower levels of unemployment, the recovery has left behind many Connecticut residents, in particular people of color, young workers, those paid low wages, and many with relatively low levels of education.
Among the key findings of the “State of Working Connecticut 2015” report, which examined employment and wage trends are:
- Job Recovery Remains Weak – Connecticut remains nearly 20,000 jobs short of full recovery. The rate of job growth continues to trail the national average, as it has nearly every year for the past 25 years.
- Employment Opportunities Differ by Education, Place, Race, and Age – Unemployment rates for black residents (13.1 percent) are more than double the rate for whites (5.1 percent), and rates are much higher in cities such as Bridgeport (10 percent), Hartford (12.1 percent) and Waterbury (9.5 percent).
- Falling Wages and Growing Disparity – If Connecticut’s wage growth had kept pace with productivity since 1979, the average worker would have made a median hourly wage of $35.24 in 2013, compared with the actual wage of $20.46 in 2013. Workers of color in Connecticut receive a median hourly wage that is, on average, $7.25 to $8 less than that of white workers.
The report also said since 2013 Connecticut’s labor force participation rate has rebounded at a higher rate than that of similar states. Yet the percentage of residents ages 25-54 working continues to sink even lower than pre-recession levels for people of color; barely one in every two black Connecticut residents is employed.
“Connecticut’s recovery is mixed; some people are in a much better position than others. Although state per capita income remains the highest in the nation, the state’s young, minority, low-income, and less-educated workers have disproportionately experienced falling wages and higher joblessness,” said Nick Defiesta, report co-author.
