Hartford Business Journal

6 Hartford Business Journal • June 6, 2016 www.HartfordBusiness.com TOP STORY Report: CT ranks dead last for fiscal health Connecticut is ranked dead last among the 50 states when it comes to overall fiscal health, according to a new study released last week by George Mason University. The report is blunt in its assessment of Connecticut's fiscal solvency. It said Connecticut's fiscal position is poor across all categories. With between only 0.46 and 1.19 times the cash needed to cover short-term liabilities, the state's revenues matched only 94 percent of expenses, producing a deficit of $505 per capita, according to report author Eileen Norcross, a senior re- search fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. The report said Connecticut is not in the same dire position as Puerto Rico, which ranks 51st. It said the state's economy is stronger than Puerto Rico's, allowing it to better navigate fiscal crises, but the large debt level still raises serious concerns. Also, Connecticut is heavily reliant on debt to finance its spending. With liabili- ties exceeding assets by 34 percent, per-capita debt is $9,077, the report said. Total debt is $20.88 billion. Unfunded pensions are $83.31 billion on a guaran- teed-to-be-paid basis, and other postemployment benefits (OPEB) are $19.53 billion. Total liabilities are equal to 53 percent of total state personal income. ECONOMY & LABOR CT working-age population shrinking Connecticut will see a drop in its working-age population through 2040, but it's far from alone among Northeast and Midwest states. According to a new Pew Trusts article, Connecticut will see a more than 5 percent drop in its prime working-age population of adults ages 25 to 54 from 2010 to 2040. That puts it on par with states like Illinois, Michigan, New Hamp- shire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Wisconsin, according to a Stateline analysis of projections released by the University of Virginia's Demographics Research Group in the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, the article said. Maine and Vermont will be the hardest hit New England states with projected population declines of more than 10 percent among working-age adults. West Virginia is expected to be equally as hard hit. Business basically bullish for next three months A new survey of Connecticut Business & Industry Association members finds almost half expect business conditions to remain stable, while almost a third anticipate improvement over the next three months. In the near-term, though, credit could begin to tighten, according to one index that tracks credit conditions in Connecticut. The 2016 CBIA/Farmington Bank 1st Quarter Economic and Credit Availability Survey found 87 percent of respondents expect their workforce to remain stable or increase, unchanged from last quarter. When asked how likely they thought the U.S. would go into recession in 2016, 53 percent answered highly unlikely or unlikely, while 35 percent felt it was likely or highly likely. Every city, town saw unemployment drop A new report issued by the state Department of Labor shows every town and city in Connecticut saw a drop in unemployment figures in 2015. Hartford continued to have the highest rate of joblessness. The June 2016 edition of the Connecticut Economic Digest reports 132 cit- ies and towns had jobless rates below the statewide figure of 5.6 percent (and Middletown matched the rate exactly). Hartford's unemployment rate was 10.4 percent. Roxbury had the lowest an- nual average unemployment rate of 3.3 percent. Of the five largest cities with a 2010 Census population of 100,000 or more, Stamford, once again, had the lowest unemployment rate in 2015 of 4.6 percent. All five cities had year-over-year unemployment rate decreases. GOVERNMENT, POLITICS & LAW Malloy vetoes small business bill Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has vetoed a bill that would have required the state to analyze the fiscal impact of new regulations on business. The bill would have required the Office of Fiscal Analysis to include an esti- mate of the number of businesses that would be affected by proposed legisla- tion and an estimated fiscal impact on those businesses. The legislation also would have redefined small business to include any company with 250 or fewer employees. Malloy said he couldn't sign the legislation because the language in the bill was overly broad. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & CONSTRUCTION Hurricanes could cause $265M in damage in Greater Htfd More than $265 million in Greater Hartford real estate could be threatened by even a minor hurricane, according to new data released by property analytics firm CoreLogic. A total of 7,730 Greater Hartford homes with a reconstruction cost value (RCV) of $2 billion are located within storm surge risk zones this year, CoreLogic said. Of those homes, 1,023 are designated in the "extreme" risk zone, meaning they would be affected by all hurricane category levels and would have an RCV of $265.5 million. Connecticut overall has 6,997 homes in the extreme risk zone and 67,602 homes that potentially could be affected by hurricanes. Connecticut's total RCV is projected to be $22.4 billion. Payveris receives $7.5M in new funding Rocky Hill-based Payveris has received $7.5 million in funding from new and exist- ing investors in a round led by San Francisco-based Mosaik Partners. Payveris, which provides digital payment products for banks and credit unions, said the funds will enable it to continue its growth and development of a new payment platform in the coming year. Payveris has added more than 100 financial institutions as customers in the past two quarters and has expanded its team by 40 percent. The company's investors include Connecticut Innovations, Hartford-based Advan - tage Capital, and Miami-based Black Dragon Capital. BY THE NUMBERS 87% The percentage of the 202 Connecticut business owners recently surveyed by the CBIA who said they expect their workforce to remain stable or grow over the next three months. $23.27 The average hourly wage needed to afford a two-bedroom rental arpartment in the Hartford-East Hartford-West Hartford area, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. 5% The percent Connecticut's working- age population (those ages 25-54) is expected to decline from 2010 through 2040, according to a new Pew Trusts article. 1,023 The number of Greater Hartford homes that are considered to be in an extreme risk zone, meaning they would affected by all hurricane category levels. TOP 5 MOST READ on HartfordBusiness.com ■ CT ranks dead last for fiscal health ■ Bronin calls bond on Dunkin' Donuts Park ■ Bloomfield luxury apt draws $52M ■ Tax preparer sent to prison for tax evasion ■ CT working-age population shrinking STAY CONNECTED For breaking and daily Greater Hartford business news go to www.HartfordBusiness.com. HBJ on Twitter: @HartfordBiz HBJ on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HartfordBiz HBJ on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ the-Hartford-Business-Journal Daily e-newsletters: HBJ Today, CT Morning Blend www.HartfordBusiness.com/subscribe Weekly e-newsletters: CT Green Guide Weekly, CT Health Care Weekly www.HartfordBusiness.com/subscribe WEEK IN REVIEW C H A R T | M E R C A T U S C E N T E R , G E O R G E M A S O N U N I V E R S I T Y

• Cover