Jobs and Vibrant Main Streets Data Prepared for the Northwest Hills Council of Governments By the Connecticut Economic Resource Center 2016 *FINAL*

Commuting Patterns 44% of the region’s residents work in the region, and 51% of the region’s residents work elsewhere in the state Torrington represents the largest single employment location for the region’s residents The region’s residents also work in New York and Massachusetts 68% of the region’s workforce lives in the region, and 29% of the workforce lives elsewhere in the state The region’s workforce also includes residents of New York, Massachusetts, and four other states *For top 25 residences and workplaces per town.

Commuting Patterns (2014) Where residents work: Where workers live: Source: LEHD On the Map. Note: For Top 25 residences and workplaces per town.

Number of Jobs Number of jobs in the region decreased 2% from 2000- 2014 The number of jobs in the state increased 6.0% during this time The region had its largest one-year increase in jobs in 2013 (1.9% from 2012) and its largest one-year decrease in jobs in 2009 (-5.2% from 2008) Largest long-term percentage increase in jobs was in Colebrook, which had a 73.3% increase from 2000-2014, an increase of 88 jobs North Canaan had the largest absolute long-term increase in the number of jobs (385 jobs, a 25% increase) Eight other towns also had increases over this time Largest long-term percentage decrease in jobs was in Canaan, which had a 23% decrease (273 jobs) Winchester had the largest absolute long-term decrease in the number of jobs (a loss of 722 jobs, or -18%)

Number of Jobs (2014) By Town Source: CT DOL; EMSI

Largest Industry Shares Largest industry in the region was Health Care and Social Assistance, comprising 18.0% of jobs This was also the largest industry in the state (15.8%) and in two towns (Sharon and Torrington) Government, Manufacturing, and Retail Trade each also represented over 10% of jobs in the region Other industries that comprised the largest share of employment in at least one town included Construction, Educational Services, and Accommodation and Food Services

Top 5 Largest Industry Shares (2015) Connecticut and Region Source: CT DOL

Largest Industry Shares (2015) By Town (1 of 2) Source: CT DOL

Largest Industry Shares (2015) By Town (2 of 2) Source: CT DOL

Unemployment Rate The region experienced its highest unemployment in 2010, when it was 8.7% This was lower than the unemployment rate in the state (9.1%) and nation (9.6%) in 2010 After 2009, the region has had a lower unemployment rate than the state The state’s unemployment rate was lower than the nation’s until 2011; beginning in 2012, unemployment in Connecticut was greater than in the U.S. Cornwall had the lowest unemployment rate in 2014, and Torrington had the highest The unemployment rate in Torrington was almost double that in Cornwall During 2000-2014, Torrington hit the highest annual unemployment rate – 11.5% in 2010

Unemployment Rate U.S., Connecticut, and Region Source: LEHD On the Map

Unemployment Rate By Town Source: LEHD On the Map

Self-Employed Workers The self-employment rate in the region was 15.7% in 2014 This is higher than the rate in the state (10.0%) and nation (9.8%) 16 NHCOG towns had a self-employment rate higher than the region’s rate, and two additional towns had a self-employment rate higher than the state or the nation Over one-third of the employed population is self- employed in Cornwall and Sharon

Self-Employed Workers (2014) By Town Source: American Community Survey

Employment Projections The state has forecasted a 9% increase in the number of jobs between 2012-2022 Three workforce investment areas (WIAs) are projected to have a 10% increase in the number of jobs This includes the two WIAs that include NHCOG towns (see slide 17) These two WIAs will have an increase of over 81,000 jobs, which is over 50% of the total new jobs that will be added to the state

Employment Projections By Workforce Investment Area Source: CT Department of Labor

Workforce Investment Areas Eastern Workforce Investment Area: Ashford, Bozrah, Brooklyn, Canterbury, Chaplin, Colchester, Columbia, Coventry, East Lyme, Eastford, Franklin, Griswold, Groton, Hampton, Killingly, Lebanon, Ledyard, Lisbon, Lyme, Mansfield, Montville, New London, North Stonington, Norwich, Old Lyme, Plainfield, Pomfret, Preston, Putnam, Salem, Scotland, Sprague, Sterling, Stonington, Thompson, Union, Voluntown, Waterford, Willington, Windham, Woodstock North Central Workforce Investment Area: Andover, Avon, Berlin, Bloomfield, Bolton, Bristol, Burlington, Canton, East Granby, East Hartford, East Windsor, Ellington, Enfield, Farmington, Glastonbury, Granby, Hartford, Hebron, Manchester, Marlborough, New Britain, Newington, Plainville, Plymouth, Rocky Hill, Simsbury, Somers, South Windsor, Southington, Stafford, Suffield, Tolland, Vernon, West Hartford, Wethersfield, Windsor, Windsor Locks Northwest Workforce Investment Area: Barkhamsted, Bethel, Bethlehem, Bridgewater, Brookfield, Canaan, Cheshire, Colebrook, Cornwall, Danbury, Goshen, Hartland, Harwinton, Kent, Litchfield, Middlebury, Morris, Naugatuck, New Fairfield, New Hartford, New Milford, Newtown, Norfolk, North Canaan, Prospect, Redding, Ridgefield, Roxbury, Salisbury, Sharon, Sherman, Southbury, Thomaston, Torrington, Warren, Washington, Waterbury, Watertown, Winchester, Wolcott, Woodbury South Central Workforce Investment Area: Bethany, Branford, Chester, Clinton, Cromwell, Deep River, Durham, East Haddam, East Hampton, East Haven, Essex, Guilford, Haddam, Hamden, Killingworth, Madison, Meriden, Middlefield, Middletown, Milford, New Haven, North Branford, North Haven, Old Saybrook, Orange, Portland, Wallingford, West Haven, Westbrook, Woodbridge Southwest Workforce Investment Area: Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Bridgeport, Darien, Derby, Easton, Fairfield, Greenwich, Monroe, New Canaan, Norwalk, Oxford, Seymour, Shelton, Stamford, Stratford, Trumbull, Weston, Westport, Wilton Source: CT Department of Labor

Business Expansions and Reductions Business expansion solely within the NHCOG region added more jobs than were lost in the three staff reductions The expansion was FuelCell Energy in Torrington (325 jobs) The reductions were Borgeson Universal Steering Components and Kmart in Torrington and Fender Musical Instruments in New Hartford (totaling 166 jobs) There were a number of other statewide expansions and reductions, but the impact in NHCOG towns is not known at this time

Business Expansions Source: CT Department of Labor Date Company Location Principal Product # Workers Involved Reason 2014-2017 FuelCell Energy Torrington Energy Manufacturer 325 Company is expanding 2016 Edward Jones Statewide Investment Services 100 Company is hiring Fall 2015 Toys 'R' Us Toy Store 455 Company is hiring for the holiday season 2015 ALDI Grocery Store 80 Spring 2015 Home Depot Home Improvement Store 900 Company is hiring seasonal workers Fall 2014 Goodwill Thrift Store 128 2014 Verizon Wireless Telephone Service 103 Company is hiring for retail, sales and customer service positions Spring 2014 Lowe's 340 1,300 Source: CT Department of Labor

Business Reductions Source: CT Department of Labor Date Company Location Principal Product # Workers Involved Reason June 2014 Fender Musical Instruments New Hartford Guitar Maker -50 Plant is closing due to poor economic conditions *INA Borgeson Universal Steering Components Torrington Manufacturer -43 Company is moving to South Carolina December 2014 Kmart Department Store -73 Store will close November 2015 Eastern Connecticut Health Network Statewide Hospital -23 Company is reducing workforce November 2015 - November 2016 The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (A&P) Supermarket -444 Company filed for bankruptcy October 2015 Connecticut Department of Labor Government -95 Department is facing a budget shortfall 2016-2017 Hartford HealthCare Healthcare -418 February - March 2015 Radio Shack Electronics Store INA* Company has filed for bankruptcy November - December 2014 REM Connecticut Human Services -342 Services will be discontinued due to lack of funding -350 January 2014 Patch Journalism -24 Source: CT Department of Labor

Economic Clusters The Health Care/Bioscience cluster comprised the largest relative share of the region’s employment (14%) compared to the other five economic clusters The Health Care/Bioscience cluster also represented a larger proportion of the region’s jobs than of the state’s jobs (13.6%) Tourism (4.6% of jobs) and Advanced Manufacturing (3.4%) also were larger proportions of jobs in the region compared to their share of state jobs (2.5% and 2.7%, respectively) Employment in Finance and Insurance, Digital Media, and the Green Economy represented smaller proportions of jobs in the region, compared to jobs in the state *Industry data available by zip code, which were matched to primary town locations. Due to data availability, the industry data for Cornwall and Warren were combined and portions of Granby were included in the data for Hartland.

Economic Clusters (2015) Employment By Connecticut and Region Source: EMSI

Agriculture Agriculture represented 1.3% of all jobs in the region and 0.4% of all jobs in the state in 2015 Morris had the largest relative agricultural sector, with 23.4% of the town’s jobs in that sector Salisbury had the largest agriculture sector by absolute number of jobs (152, or 6.1% of the town’s jobs) Eight towns had no agriculture jobs reported in 2015 *Industry data available by zip code, which were matched to primary town locations. Due to data availability, the industry data for Cornwall and Warren were combined and portions of Granby were included in the data for Hartland.

Agriculture (2015) Employment By Connecticut, Region, and Town Source: EMSI

Business Formations and Sizes The region has seen a decrease in the annual number of business formations from 2009 to 2015 (-8.4%) During this time period, the state has had an increase in formations (7.4%) Torrington had the highest number of business formations in 2015, with 143 formations (or 23.8% formations in the region) Most businesses (61.2%) in the region are very small, with four or fewer employees There are only two businesses with more than 500 employees in the state, and they are located in Litchfield and Torrington There are no businesses in the region with more than 1,000 employees

Annual Percent Change in Business Formations (2010-2015) By Connecticut and Region Source: CT Secretary of State obtained from CT Data Collaborative

Business Sizes (2014) Source: U.S. Census Bureau Zip Business Patterns