CERCONOMY: Outlook 2020 - Leveraging Global Economic Trends for Local Impact

CERCONOMY

After a period of steady growth, we’re starting to see signs of a slow down as the economy begins to return to a more baseline level of growth. Factors such as the diminishing effects of the temporary boost from the 2017 tax changes, as well as slowing in the manufacturing sector due to prolonged uncertainty with trade and tariffs, have a different economic outlook going into 2020. Fresh from a presentation at the 2019 Connecticut Conference of Municipalities Annual Convention, Courtney Hendricson, CERC’s Vice President of Municipal Services, and Rachel Gretencord, CERC’s Financial and Research Analyst, come together to recap an outlook of the Connecticut economy and how municipalities can leverage this information to help local businesses in their communities. Rachel shares information on the trends we’re seeing in the major industries in the state - including manufacturing, healthcare, education and social services, the IT sector, as well as professional and business services - and discusses how every industry is being affected by the aging workforce, and the challenges companies are facing to train new workers. So, on a local level, what do we do with this information? Courtney shares ideas on how municipal leaders can leverage these trends to build vitality in downtowns through experiential retail, provide resources for emerging businesses, and partner with educational resources to develop the next wave of skilled workforce with the new technologies… all with a focus on the fundamentals of best practices in economic development, without losing the critical character of our communities.