Five years after the official end of the Great Recession, Connecticut workers continue to face an economy with fewer jobs, falling wages, and rising inequality. This report identifies the disproportionate impact of the weak economy on young, minority, and less educated workers as a warning sign for the future economic vitality of the state.
Among the key findings of the “State of Working Connecticut 2014” report, which examined employment and wage trends:
- Connecticut has yet to recover the jobs lost during the recession and has fewer jobs now than it did 25 years ago.
- The large majority of workers have faced stagnant or falling wages over the past decade, accelerating the rise of inequality. Only Connecticut’s highest earners have seen wage growth since 2000.
- These damaging job and wage trends have disproportionately hurt young workers, workers of color, and workers with less education.
This report cautioned that the damaging impact of these economic trends on young, minority, and less educated workers, combined with shifting demographics in the state, mean that the state’s future workforce is at risk. Nearly one-third of Connecticut’s children are poor or near poor (under 200% of the federal poverty level), and nearly half of children starting kindergarten today are children of color — both groups disproportionately affected by Connecticut's weak economy.
For more information on trends in this report, including employment and wage statistics dating back to 1979, see our interactive State of Working Connecticut graph.
