Zone Could Create Jobs in Connecticut

Posted on May 18, 2009

A new effort is underway to help create more jobs in Connecticut.

The Connecticut state Senate is planning to act this week on a proposal to create a special economic development zone in four towns bordering Bradley International Airport. According to an article by CNBC, the legislation would affect parts of Windsor Locks, Suffield, East Granby and Windsor.

If passed, the legislation would help create local and state tax-relief incentives for businesses to open or expand within the zone. The amount of the incentives would vary depending on the number of new jobs created. Proponents of the proposal say the enterprise zone could bring businesses ranging from light industrial companies to hotels, regional distribution warehouses and aerospace firms.

The additional jobs the zone could create would help Connecticut’s declining economy begin to bounce back. During March, the state saw its unemployment rate increase from 7.4 percent to 7.5 percent. Connecticut had a total non-farm employment of 1,651,400 workers during March, according to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is down from 1,658,500 workers during February and a 3.4 percent decrease from last year.

All of this is on top of information that indicates Connecticut could continue to lose jobs during the next two years. The Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis recently released a report that found the State of Connecticut could lose 40,000 more jobs through 2011. That would bring the total number of jobs lost during the recession to at least 110,000, depending on whether or not the federal economic stimulus package is able to slow the losing trend.