Spring Break
Population Shift Hurting State Economy
Rhema Thompson
Issue date: 11/7/05 Section: News
In a study done by the Connecticut Economic Resource Center (CERC), researchers reported that while Connecticut currently has high productivity and a highly educated workforce, issues such as lack of business and job growth and an aging population threaten to harm the state's economic competitiveness.
The report, "Benchmarking Connecticut's Economy," which was released last month, compared Connecticut to other states in terms of five key areas - technology, financial resources, business vitality, human capital and global links. It examined the state's competitiveness in these areas in terms concentration, meaning its current level of a given area and in terms of growth, meaning its annual rate of change. According to the findings of the report, growth in all five areas is lagging.
Alissa DeJonge, an economist at CERC and project manager for the study, said the purpose of the report was to motivate Connecticut officials to take action.
"I think, overall, the report is telling us that we can't be complacent any longer," DeJonge said. "We see that jobs aren't growing. We see we're not getting as many businesses as other states ... and we need to create a strategy that would enhance the state and help us move forward."
Dr. William Lott, director of research at the Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis and associate professor at UConn, said the lack of growth in Connecticut is due to the large number young adults leaving the state. According to the CERC report, between 1990 and 2000 Connecticut experienced the greatest loss of people between the age of 18 and 35 relative to any other state.
"We're one of the oldest states in the nation in terms of the average age of the population and it's getting worse," Lott said.
Lott said the lack of young adults in Connecticut could become problematic in the future as the state's older population leaves the workforce.
"You're looking at people who are in that 35 to 40-year[-old] bracket as sort of in the peak of their productivity and if we don't have those [younger] workers, obviously, this outflow is going to have a rolling effect as we move up in the years," Lott said. "That's going to have an adverse effect on our productivity and ability of the state to maintain its relative competitiveness."
The report, "Benchmarking Connecticut's Economy," which was released last month, compared Connecticut to other states in terms of five key areas - technology, financial resources, business vitality, human capital and global links. It examined the state's competitiveness in these areas in terms concentration, meaning its current level of a given area and in terms of growth, meaning its annual rate of change. According to the findings of the report, growth in all five areas is lagging.
Alissa DeJonge, an economist at CERC and project manager for the study, said the purpose of the report was to motivate Connecticut officials to take action.
"I think, overall, the report is telling us that we can't be complacent any longer," DeJonge said. "We see that jobs aren't growing. We see we're not getting as many businesses as other states ... and we need to create a strategy that would enhance the state and help us move forward."
Dr. William Lott, director of research at the Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis and associate professor at UConn, said the lack of growth in Connecticut is due to the large number young adults leaving the state. According to the CERC report, between 1990 and 2000 Connecticut experienced the greatest loss of people between the age of 18 and 35 relative to any other state.
"We're one of the oldest states in the nation in terms of the average age of the population and it's getting worse," Lott said.
Lott said the lack of young adults in Connecticut could become problematic in the future as the state's older population leaves the workforce.
"You're looking at people who are in that 35 to 40-year[-old] bracket as sort of in the peak of their productivity and if we don't have those [younger] workers, obviously, this outflow is going to have a rolling effect as we move up in the years," Lott said. "That's going to have an adverse effect on our productivity and ability of the state to maintain its relative competitiveness."