Excerpt, from Stamford Advocate, "Report underscores sentiment of many struggling workers," by Alexander Soule, Sunday, May 8, 2016:
"It was a remarkable commentary on the state of the typical Connecticut resident’s mind when fully half of some 16,000 people statewide indicated last year their odds of finding suitable employment here were only fair at best."
"In surveys of 16,200 people between April and October last year, New Haven-based DataHaven reported that only 36 percent of those polled rated their prospects of finding “suitable employment” good or excellent, with half describing those prospects in more negative terms, and the remaining 14 percent not offering an opinion. While the percentages were highest in cities, where three in four had a bleak outlook, it was elevated as well in suburban areas at more than 40 percent; and even among the wealthy, where 25 percent of people did not like their opportunities here."
"In a report last month to the Connecticut Commission on Economic Competitiveness, the Business Council of Fairfield County determined that some of the state’s fastest-growth job sectors — education, health services and hospitality — pay an average annual wage of $54,000, well below the $65,000 average wage that puts Connecticut among the highest in the nation. At the same time, Connecticut has suffered a contraction in industries that exceed that average compensation, including construction, information services and manufacturing."
