Connecticut has launched a new retirement savings option for residents working private-sector jobs who aren't offered a plan through their employer.

The program, called MyCTSavings, was designed to be easy and flexible for both the employer and employee, according to Comptroller Natalie Braswell.

“Everyone deserves a financially secure retirement,” said Braswell. “The MyCTSavings program creates new opportunities for workers to plan for their futures and fills a critical need in the marketplace. The plan is designed to be easy for employers to maintain and is optional for workers to participate. I’m grateful to everyone who worked to get us to this point and look forward to the hardworking people of Connecticut benefitting from this important program.”  Read More

Connecticut's labor force is shrinking while the number of available jobs continues to rise, one labor expert said.

Chris DiPentima, who serves as president and chief executive officer of the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, said the state’s labor situation has entered crisis mode.

"Our labor shortage is a full-blown crisis – we have 110,000 job openings, yet our labor force has declined by more than 80,000 people since the beginning of the pandemic, represent an astonishing 14% of the national labor force decline and 46% of the northeast labor force decline," DiPentima told The Center Square. Read More

The Small Business Digital Alliance (SBDA), a new public-private co-sponsorship between the SBA and Business Forward, Inc., published a comprehensive suite of free resources to help small businesses expand their customer base, manage their growth, find and retain talent, and enter new markets. These resources are being provided by some of America’s most respected leaders in business, government, economic development, and other aligned spaces. The SBDA previously announced its first slate of events and national members, including: Amazon, Comcast, Google, Meta, PayPal, Principal Financial Group, Square (Block, Inc.), TriNet, Venmo, Verizon, Visa, and ZenBusiness. Since launching, the SBDA has brought on LinkedIn and Microsoft as national members. Read More

On the strength of the hospitality sector’s rebound, Connecticut exited 2021 with one of the top-performing economies in the nation, but ranked in the bottom third when factoring in economic output for the full year, data shows.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis reports a 7.7 percent increase in Connecticut’s gross domestic product in the fourth quarter of last year, spanning both goods and services. That ranked 12th nationally, a notch behind Massachusetts, but well ahead of New York’s 4.8 percent growth rate from the preceding three months. Read More