Cathy Osten

Sen. Osten Welcomes Good 2022 Job News For Southeastern Connecticut; Sets Sights On More Jobs In 2023

NORWICH – State Senator Cathy Osten (D-Sprague) said today that as good as some job indicators were for Southeastern Connecticut in 2022, she would like to see those numbers grow even more in 2023.

Sen. Osten noted that, according to the state Department of Labor, as of November the Norwich-New London-Westerly Labor Market Area (LMA) had the best private-sector year-to-year job growth of any labor market area in Connecticut: 3.5% job growth, or 3,300 new private-sector jobs, from November 2021 to November 2022.

The Norwich-New London-Westerly LMA also had the largest unemployment drop this calendar year of any LMA in Connecticut – from 5.5% in January to 3.7% in November. Southeastern Connecticut has also seen 20 consecutive months of month-over-month job growth, from April 2021 to November 2022 (December job numbers are still pending). Various state employment and economic reports can be found here

“Connecticut added about 34,000 new, private-sector jobs over the past year, including 5,300 new jobs in manufacturing,” Sen. Osten said. “These are good-paying jobs. We’re seeing job growth in the double-digits for machinist and manufacturing jobs paying $60,000 to $80,000 a year. Last month, there were more than 8,300 job postings statewide for manufacturing jobs – the fourth-largest number of job postings for any industry sector in Connecticut. So the work is out there, we just need to get more people trained and connected to it.”

Sen. Osten has spent the past several years in the state legislature securing funding for the Eastern Workforce Investment Board (EWIB) and for community colleges to provide funding for training in manufacturing job classifications, certificate programs, and a “debt free” program for full and parttime community college students. Sen. Osten has also worked with EWIB to expand manufacturing programs in both high school and junior high schools to introduce students to middle-class job opportunities in the region.

“A few months ago, the Connecticut Business and Industry Association surveyed Connecticut business CEOs, and 85 percent of them said they’re having trouble finding employees, and that they’re spending a lot of money recruiting and retaining employees,” Sen. Osten said. “I’m going to spend the next two years continuing to invest in job training so that our residents can secure jobs at Connecticut companies that pay the kinds of salaries and benefits that you need to buy a home and raise a family. That would be a great outcome for Connecticut businesses and Connecticut residents.”