State Companies Struggling To Find Qualified Workers

HARTFORD — Connecticut companies have job openings, but are having difficulty finding applicants with the experience or skills needed to fill the positions, according to Connecticut Business & Industry Association’s (CBIA) first-quarter 2006 economic survey.

According to the survey, nearly three-quarters of respondents (71 percent) said their firms attempted to hire new or replacement workers. But more than half of those companies (53 percent) were unable to fill all their open positions.

When asked why, respondents gave three answers. The majority (72 percent) reported that the applicants did not have the experience or skills needed for the job.

Thirty-eight percent said they had a shortage of applicants, while 20 percent said the applicants were deficient in other ways or just not ready to work.

The survey also found that while production, sales, and productivity are at their highest levels in more than a year, so are the numbers of respondents who believe the state and national economies are worsening.

More than half of the respondents (58 percent) said production and sales have improved this quarter, up from 52 percent a year ago. And 53 percent reported increased productivity this quarter, compared with 45 percent a year ago.

But, while respondents’ companies are growing, they said the economy is continuing to falter. A quarter said the national economy has worsened, compared with 20 percent last quarter and 15 percent a year ago.

The figures are worse for the state’s economy, with 32 percent reporting poor economic conditions this quarter, compared with 24 percent last quarter and 28 percent a year ago.

Connecticut businesses are seeing improvement within their own firms, but they do not attribute their success to an improving economy.

“Outside market forces are placing a strain on businesses and forcing firms to rely more heavily on the productivity of employees and the ability to attract qualified new candidates. But with less of a qualified labor pool available than in past years, businesses and the state must examine what can be done to produce a greater supply of job-ready candidates,” said Mr Gioia.

The survey was mailed or emailed in April to 2,000 business executives around the state. The survey has a response rate of 17 percent and a margin of error of plus or minus 5.4 percent.

CBIA is the state’s largest business organization, with 10,000 members.