Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JUNE 15, 2026 17 Join Donny Marshall & Friends Donny Marshall Charity Classic, Lake of Isles, Aug. 9-10th. Limited foursomes available. To learn more scan code or visit jay@elkinsonsloves.com Join some of the biggest and tallest names in sport as the 21st Century Tolland Fund continues to help give young athletes with disabilities the chance they deserve. Event includes: • Opening Night VIP Welcome Reception • On-course Highland Park Market Grills • Waypoint Spirits, Lawson's Finest and Molson Coors spirit zones • A1 Toyota and Harley-Davidson Hole in One Challenges • Post golf celebrity reception, Joshua's Worldwide Transit Celebrity Auction and Awards Dinner AUG. 9-10, 2026 Design | Print | Mail MARKETING PARTNERS: PREMIER: DIAMOND: spending, increased state trans- portation investment and rising private-sector development. "You take all these things together, you've got a tremendous amount of momentum going in Connecticut right now," Shubert said. He also credited a culture change at the state Department of Transporta- tion with accelerating project delivery after years of sluggish activity. "The department has changed its focus," Shubert said. "They're finding the balance where you can get all your compliance done and still get projects on the street." Despite the employment milestone, Shubert said he does not believe the industry has reached its ceiling. Connecticut contractors, material suppliers and construction firms still have capacity to take on additional work, he said. Marc Okun, Connecticut regional manager for the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, said interest in the trades has risen along with construction activity. Attendance at the union's monthly information sessions at its Wallingford training center has nearly doubled over the past year, regularly drawing between 80 and 100 people, compared with roughly 40 to 50 previously. Concerns about automation and artificial intelligence, combined with student debt and uncertainty about traditional career paths, are helping drive interest, Okun said. The carpenters' union's membership has increased by roughly 2.5% over the past year, to about 3,000 members, he added. Economic momentum Daniel O'Keefe, commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development, said the state's economy hit a turning point in 2018 and has since grown by nearly $100 billion. Housing permits, business investment and growth in industries ranging from advanced manufacturing and professional services to health- care and finance are all up, he said. "That's the market betting on the forward Connecticut economy," O'Keefe said. In a March blog post, O'Keefe noted that Connecticut's 18.3% increase in housing permits in 2025 was the fastest percentage growth in the nation. He expects continued investment as businesses and developers respond to growing economic activity. "I do fundamentally believe we are in a positive self-amplification cycle right now," he said. Bill Jodice, owner of Bloom- field-based PDS Engineering & Construction, said projects delayed by the pandemic, supply chain disruptions and inflation are now moving forward. "We're really busy and we may even do much more than $70 million (in revenue) this year, but I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch," Jodice said. Moderating inflation has helped restore investor confidence, he said. "Once it was down around 3% for a while, then people got comfortable. And then I think it opened the flood- gates," Jodice said. His 45-person firm typically manages about 15 commercial proj- ects at a time, including warehouses, municipal and medical facilities, schools and apartment develop- ments. Projects can range from $2 million jobs lasting several months to $50 million developments spanning multiple years. He sees work everywhere he turns. "It's not just commercial vertical construction," Jodice noted. "You drive down any highway in the state or roads, and there's always construction signs everywhere. You're always going around some kind of road work. That's employing a lot of people right there." Despite the industry's recent growth, Eucalitto said future construc- tion activity will depend in part on continued federal investment. The current five-year federal trans- portation funding bill expires this year. Eucalitto said a version of its replace- ment being advanced in Congress would not keep pace with inflation, potentially reducing future buying power for transportation projects. "We're talking about a 0.5% increase in growth in funding, which ensures that we would go backwards," Eucalitto said. Daniel O'Keefe Source: CT Dept. of Labor Note: Each year is as of April. The data is seasonally adjusted. 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Number of workers CT construction industry employment (Seasonally Adjusted, 000s) 40,000 50,000 60,000 70,000 80,000 CT CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY EMPLOYMENT Note: Each year is as of April. The data is seasonally adjusted. Source: CT Dept. of Labor

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