[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Source? Jay

Try Google on "U6 unemployment rate by state". The first hit is the BLS data.
https://www.bls.gov/lau/stalt.htm


Connecticut is the poster child for income and wealth stratification which is why the C-D board is so split between "It's a basket case" and "I'm doing fine". The regionally high U6 number is one way of looking at it.

[BobNJ1960]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

You're just looking at the headline U3 number. Connecticut has a very bad U6. 8.9%. Massachusetts is 7%. Rhode Island is 7.4%. New Jersey is 7.7%. New York is 8.1%. New Hampshire and Vermont are in the 5's. It's another way of measuring the whole income and wealth stratification problem. The bottom half in Connecticut are doing worse than other states in the region.

It is nice to see another poster familiar with the U6 number. 8.9% is horrible considering how well the country is doing.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by BobNJ1960

It is nice to see another poster familiar with the U6 number. 8.9% is horrible considering how well the country is doing.

It's a tough place to not have 21st century job skills. I imagine lower Fairfield County has a labor shortage of unskilled/semi-skilled due to housing costs and the lousy transportation infrastructure. The rest of the state, not so much. Not all that different from the Rust Belt. Outside the 495 belt & Cape Cod which is always struggling to find 6 month seasonal workers, Massachusetts has the same basic issue.

[HumpDay]

Originally Posted by BobNJ1960

Wonder what decade Ct will experience the recovery in?

CT did well when NYC and large cities were a dump which made suburbs thrive. It’s been the opposite and big cities are doing very well because that’s what many young workers want.

My guess is the 2030’s if it stays this way. Baby boomers will start to dwindle and so will their retirement benefits which takes up a massive chunk of the budget. Pension and public sector benefits need an overhaul. Public sector workers don’t want that, and I don’t blame them.

[MrGompers]

Originally Posted by HumpDay

CT did well when NYC and large cities were a dump which made suburbs thrive. It’s been the opposite and big cities are doing very well because that’s what many young workers want.

When the yuppies/millennials have kids they will move out to the suburbs. There are thousands if not ten's of thousands of affordable single family homes in CT's cities. The young people aren't buying them.


The demographics of city vs suburbs wont change 10 years from now or even 100 years from now unless there is some major shift in societal norms and socioeconomic status.


The one wild card which really doesn't really exist in CT any more is catholic schools. Lots of families who lived and owned houses in the cities sent their kids to catholic schools at least for high school. About half my friends went to catholic high school in the 80's-90's. Those schools are closed now.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by MrGompers

When the yuppies/millennials have kids they will move out to the suburbs. There are thousands if not ten's of thousands of affordable single family homes in CT's cities. The young people aren't buying them.


The demographics of city vs suburbs wont change 10 years from now or even 100 years from now unless there is some major shift in societal norms and socioeconomic status.


The one wild card which really doesn't really exist in CT any more is catholic schools. Lots of families who lived and owned houses in the cities sent their kids to catholic schools at least for high school. About half my friends went to catholic high school in the 80's-90's. Those schools are closed now.

There are still many Catholic schools in our state. Not sure why you think otherwise. Some have been consolidated but many still exist. Jay

[JimG2]

Originally Posted by JayCT

There are still many Catholic schools in our state. Not sure why you think otherwise. Some have been consolidated but many still exist. Jay

In the 70's New Britain had at least 6 Catholic middle schools and two Catholic high schools. Now it's down to a single K-8 school that the local Polish keep running.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by MrGompers

When the yuppies/millennials have kids they will move out to the suburbs. There are thousands if not ten's of thousands of affordable single family homes in CT's cities. The young people aren't buying them.


The demographics of city vs suburbs wont change 10 years from now or even 100 years from now unless there is some major shift in societal norms and socioeconomic status.

They've already changed and for exactly those societal norm and socioeconomic status reasons. Low birth rates among white collar professionals. The massive income stratification issue. Huge student loan debt. My news feed has endless "Boomers, Millenials don't want to buy your house" clickbait stories.



The median house in Connecticut costs $270K and has a $5,500 property tax bill Personally, I don't consider a house with a $5,000+ property tax bill on the state's $73K median household income "affordable". If you don't have the 20% down as a first time buyer, the mortgage, PMI, insurance, and taxes are up around 30% of your gross income. If you have school loans, I don't see how it's do-able.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

The median house in Connecticut costs $270K and has a $5,500 property tax bill Personally, I don't consider a house with a $5,000+ property tax bill on the state's $73K median household income "affordable". If you don't have the 20% down as a first time buyer, the mortgage, PMI, insurance, and taxes are up around 30% of your gross income. If you have school loans, I don't see how it's do-able.

Yeah, agreed, and that’s precisely why CT is having issues retaining its population.

[skeddy]

Actually all Obama did with the recession is follow steps Bush put in place before he left office, including extending the Bush tax cuts. Well there was one idea that was Obama's alone. Cash for Clunkers.