Milford Mirror

Unemployment rate in Milford drops to 6.7%

Written by Jill K. Dion
Thursday, 02 February 2012 10:49

In good times, Milford’s unemployment rate is about 4%. Recent reports from the city’s Economic Development Office have the city’s unemployment rate inching closer to that number, dropping from 7% in November to 6.7% in December.

Milford’s labor force — the number of people eligible to work — numbers 32,722, according to December figures published by the Connecticut Department of Labor.

Of those, 30,514 were employed, and 2,208 were unemployed in December, for that 6.7% unemployment rate. “I think we’re starting to see some growth in jobs,” said Milford Community Development Director Robert Gregory. “It’s not boom times. We’ve been through so much and with so many people unemployed, different segments of our workforce have rebounded.”

State figures indicate Connecticut’s unemployment rate is lower than it’s been since June of 2009. In a press release, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said the drop is “encouraging,” but he stressed that “more needs to be done in the mission to reinvent Connecticut and stimulate job growth.”

According to the Connecticut Labor Department, the state’s unemployment rate, based on December figures, is 7.6%, or 8.2% when adjusted for seasonal hiring. That compares to a national unemployment rate of 8.3%, or 8.5% when adjusted for seasonal employment.

Town-specific figures are not adjusted for seasonal hiring because there isn’t enough data to make such detailed computations, a state official said, noting that December figures likely reflect some temporary holiday employment.

Some surrounding communities report rates higher than Milford, some lower. In Bridgeport, the unemployment rate for December was 11.7%; Orange was at 5.6%, Stratford at 8.2% and West Haven at 6.3%.

Milford’s news is good, said Economic Development Commission Chairman Cyrus Settinari, primarily because the city weighs in at nearly two points below the national average.

“I think it’s extremely encouraging and says a lot about Milford’s health as a community,” Settinari said, though he added that he’s concerned the numbers may not reflect the number of underemployed people.

Milford has a very aggressive business community and an aggressive Chamber of Commerce, and that goes a long way toward producing a healthy economy, Settinari said.

“We still have some very renowned manufacturing companies with operations in Milford, and this shows there is employment to be had,” Settinari added.

One local business responsible for getting some people off unemployment in recent years is Alinabal. Sam Bergami owns Alinabal in Milford, a broad-based manufacturing company, which has continued to prosper even in a tough economy.

“We’ve been hiring for the last two years, even during slowdowns,” Bergami said.

The company picked up people who had been out of work from other jobs because of layoffs. It even offered jobs to some out-of-work people who turned the company down, saying they’d rather collect unemployment.

Bergami said to increase jobs, the state needs to make some changes, such as easing up on taxes and regulations, and he said there need to be changes to union regulations.

“The reality is that if it wasn’t for our children, grandchildren and our roots here, this company could do better in a right-to-work state,” Bergami said.

A right-to-work state is one that lets employees decide for themselves whether to join or financially support a union.

“That’s why there’s a mass exodus to right-to-work states,” Bergami said. “Connecticut is a closed state, which means if you get a union, everyone must join.”

There is no union at Alinabal. Bergami said he offers fair wage and benefit packages, and that’s why employees typically stay until they retire.

Malloy, on his state website, highlights several measures the state is working on to improve the jobs climate:

• Creation of the Small Business Express Program (EXP) with funds of $50 million per year to help Connecticut’s small businesses gain access to capital.

• Providing incentives to create jobs through the Job Expansion Tax Credit (JET) program, which gives a $500 tax credit for each new employee or $900 for certain employees if they are disabled, unemployed, or a veteran.

• Providing incentives for manufacturers to reinvest in their businesses. The jobs bill expanded the capacity of the Manufacturing Reinvestment Account (MRA) program, which allows small manufacturing companies to deposit domestic gross receipts into interest-bearing accounts to use for business expenses. It did so by doubling the number of small manufacturing companies that may participate to 100 as well as the amount they may deposit in their accounts to $100,000.

• Encouraging job training with the Subsidized Training & Employment Program (STEP), which will provide funding to small businesses and small manufacturers for a portion of a worker’s employment costs, including training, during the first six months of his or her employment.

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