Well, thanks for staying
with us on the real story.
We all know the challenges the pandemic has
and is bringing to our economy economy.
The numbers do tell the story here.
Check out the unemployment
rate in Connecticut 7.9%.
That is one of the highest in the country.
Almost 140,000 people on unemployment.
It's a good chunk of our workforce,
but our next guest columnist,
Red Jankie, says the unemployment rate
is only half of the story and that
we are in a full blown jobs crisis.
He says almost 300,000 workers have dropped.
Our workforce or are currently unemployed.
That's 15% According to him,
of Connecticut's pre pandemic workforce
Jennkie says it's going to have
devastating effects on our on Connecticut
in our economy for years to come.
So how did he get those numbers and
what needs to happen to turn the
horse around joining us this morning?
Read janky is back on the program.
Good morning to you.
Good morning Jenn. It's good to
be here. Thank you for having
me on. Glad to have you alright.
So you wrote this op Ed.
It appeared in several of Connecticut's
on Newspapers Online as well,
so explain to me how you
got here and you know what?
That missing piece that the
unemployment number isn't telling.
Jenn, I think you and your
lead laid it out very nicely.
The public and and the news feed generally
focuses on the unemployment rate,
which is the highest in the nation.
Were tide with New Mexico
for that distinction.
That is, as you said, only half the story.
If you add in the collapse of our workforce.
From one point round numbers
1.9 million in February 2020,
pre pandemic to where we are today,
which is round numbers a million
and three quarters workers.
150,000 people have dropped out of
the workforce. That's alarming.
As you said, the combination of of dropouts
and unemployed is round numbers 300,000.
And as a percent of that February workforce,
that's about 15%.
That's an astounding an alarming number.
And it's not only astounding
and alarming in of itself.
We're in last place, the next.
Worst state is Hawaii at 11%.
Now, in terms of economic rankings,
this state we're accustomed
to coming in last.
But in this case,
we're not only last,
we're last by a country mile.
This is this is astounding.
So what's going on here?
Where did our workforce go?
What's the cause of
these dropouts? Well you the dropouts.
First, a little bit of background
on why our high unemployment rate.
You shouldn't be that high in work that
high because unemployment benefits
are three factors that one there as
widely available as you can conceive.
Coverage was extended to so-called
gig workers during the pandemic.
That's self-employed,
independent contractors.
The requirement that you be
looking for a job was waived,
understandably during a pandemic,
and the generosity of the
benefits is is incredible.
On top of normal benefits.
The federal government is funding
today a $300 a week supplement.
That's over $15,000 a year to me that.
That strikes me is an offer you
can't refuse if you've lost your job.
Why aren't you taking those benefits?
And yet we have 150,000 people
who've dropped out of the workforce.
Is that
going to become? Is that going to
become more apparent red though,
when those federal benefits reduce?
Well, I think the unemployment
the unemployed ranks will go down,
but more to the point about dropouts is why
did people drop out of the workforce, IE.
Lose their job and not apply
for unemployment benefits.
If you are receiving unemployment benefits,
you are included in the workforce.
Statistically, these 150,000 people
who dropped out of the workforce are
not collecting unemployment benefits.
That's refusing an offer you can't refuse.
It seems irrational.
So what are the possible explanations
for irrationality?
One these.
A large component may be older workers
who have taken this shock as as a
time that they've decided to retire.
They're not going to seek another job,
so with some integrity dear,
not collecting unemployment benefits which
are meant to bridge to your next job. Uhm?
That will be a good portion of the drops,
another perhaps more likely.
Explanation is these people
have left the state.
Uh,
they've gone to greener pastures.
And there is evidence.
On the other side were the departure.
Location. Uhm, there are 14 states.
They're grown their workforce.
Since February 2020,
so it confirms the idea that people
in the notion that people have
left this state because there are
people appearing in 14 other states,
new workers.
So red what happened is people
have left Connecticut.
What does Connecticut need to
do when you're looking at those
numbers and you say it's alarming?
What does Connecticut do
need to do to fix this?
Well. It's alarming because if our if our
workforce has shrunk its mere mathematics
and economics that our economy will shrink.
You can't expect you know 10% fewer
workers to produce the same amount.
As produced pre pandemic,
what should we do about it?
The first answer to that, quite honestly,
is what should we have done about it?
And that's the federal supplement should
have been terminated in this state.
About 25 states at terminated.
The 300 affected in in June and early July,
the unemployment rates in those
states are on average 2% below the
states that are continuing to pay it.
Now that's a solution that can no
longer be pursued because you have
to give a months notice.
And we're about a month and a week or two
weeks away from the expiration of it.
So this is an opportunity
that Governor Lamont missed.
He could have and he should
have terminated it. He didn't,
so he owns a large part of this problem.
What should we do now?
We we should go directly to the
state's most fundamental problem,
which is we have over generous and
underfunded state employee compensation.
State employee compensation is the
largest component of the state budget.
There's no other category
of expense that comes close.
And state employees.
Of a charmed existence, first for about
a decade they had enjoyed a no layoff.
Guarantee so we've gone through the the
pandemic and we just reference the.
Hundreds of thousands of state workers.
Workers in this state lost their jobs.
No state worker lost their job.
VALAR though the devastation in the
private sector has been all that much worse.
Uhm?
Secondly, the the explanations.
Of.
The state employee compensation
problem and again our pension fund
is is somewhere amongst the five
worst funded pension state pension
funds in the nation.
Yeah,
you are not the
first person to point that out.
We're we've run out of time,
but just real quick.
If someone wants to read your op Ed,
where can they find it?
Uh, well they can look look
on the Connecticut Examiner.
Stay in London.
Any one of the the Hearst newspapers?
There are eight of them.
Yep, the Republican American.
The journal Inquirer.
This is this is a story
that that into your credit,
no one else is covering well.
We are glad to have you
on the show this morning.
Read and we appreciate you
breaking down what you wrote.
My pleasure, thank you so much. Thank you.
Well that does it for us on the real
story, if you want to watch these
segments again, head to fox61.com.
Thank you very much and have a good morning.