Connecticut Labor Markets

One of the best experiences of my life was watching Jamie Smith, a young man with autism, leave his routine in Chicago, travel to the Special Olympics World Games in the chaotic Chinese city of Shanghai — and succeed. Jamie's success -- managing in...

It's no mystery when a mystery-shopping job offer asks the prospective shopper to cash a money order and wire most of the money to a third party. It's a scam. An actual mystery-shopping job is much less mysterious: Some retailers hire companies that...

In the end, he decided to pretend. Politicians will do that, trumpet that something is different than we know it to be. It's not what we expect in so many large doses from Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who revels in his reputation for rude candor. The state's...

I took a walk early Wednesday morning. Azaleas and dogwoods were in bloom. Green-again trees and shrubs were damp, dripping from Tuesday's rain. A zillion birds were singing, and even the starlings sounded sweet. The Orioles had won another game. A...

In some ways, 2012 was a carryover year from news of 2011, as the governor continued his aggressive economic development spending, United Technologies Corp. consummated a deal it announced in 2011, and the year's nastiest labor strike grew out of a 2011...

As the year draws to a close, Connecticut, more than most states, remains hostage to the fiscal cliff talks in Washington D.C. But even without that bit of Yuletide feuding, the jobs picture here is grimmer than just about anyplace as the nation as a...

Put out more state employee suggestion boxes. Democratic and Working Families Gov. Dannel P. Malloy assured us that employee suggestions would save $180 million in spending over two years. Like so much of what Malloy promised, it isn't working. The...

The left, which possesses the loudest voice in Connecticut's public life, encourages diversity in everything but thought. You must adhere to the orthodoxy that government is good, bigger government is better, except for law enforcement, which is always...

It's the tweet that launched 1,000 right-wing conspiracy claims, as if we didn't already have more than we could use. Minutes after the U.S. Department of Labor reported Friday that the unemployment rate dropped to 7.8 percent in September, from 8.1...

Debate season is upon us. Candidates take time from fundraising to prepare, so you know they understand the stakes. If you have not been watching the wild series "Boss" on the Starz premium cable channel, you missed a candidate's ultimate debate...

Most everyone with a high school diploma is familiar with the great Dickens novel, “A Tale of Two Cities.” This week I am writing a tale of two states. There will, of course, be a couple of differences between the two. One, I am sure mine will...

Income inequality, like its cousin, corporate greenmail, can be bad or not-so-bad. If it means the richest people are making huge gobs of money while the rest of us are getting ahead nicely, that's not so terrible. A new report from Connecticut Voices...