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Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Congressman Peter Welch (D-Vt.) -- who have long championed the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) -- Friday announced $17 million in funds to assist Vermonters seeking help to meet their home heating needs this winter, only days after the first snowfall of the season. In a joint statement, Leahy, Sanders and Welch said: “LIHEAP is a lifeline to more than 25,000 Vermonters who need energy assistance to stay warm in the winter. Seniors on fixed incomes, people with disabilities, and low-income families spend a growing portion of their income heating their homes.

Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment claims in Vermont increased above 500 after its historic low of under 300 three weeks ago. For the week of October 17, there were 553 new, regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance in Vermont, an increase of 115 from the previous week's total and 13 more than they were a year ago. Generally, claims have been running below last year's totals. Total claims were generally up a little in most regions of the state. By industry, claims fell for for Construction and were up modestly for manufacturing. As has been the trend, Services led all categories with 47 percent of all claims, the same as last week.

Vermont Business Magazine Energy efficiency measures continue to flourish in states across the country, with Vermont finishing just behind Massachusetts and California. Several states—including California, Maryland, Illinois, Texas and the nation’s capital, Washington, DC—took major steps that improved their scores in the ninth annual edition of the State Energy Efficiency Scorecard, released this week by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). The State Scorecard ranking of the states is issued annually with the support of the US Department of Energy. This year, DOE Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency Kathleen Hogan participated in the release of the ACEEE report.

SEE VERMONT SCORECARD BELOW

Public Assets Institute New employment numbers out for September show virtually no growth in 2015. Total employment, which includes the self-employed along with payroll employees, dropped for the second month in a row. There were 2,500 fewer Vermonters working in September than in July. Meanwhile, Vermont unemployment fell from 4.1 percent in January to 3.7 percent last month.

Discouraged and underemployed

Vermont’s official unemployment rate — U-3, to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics — is back where it was before the Great Recession hit in late 2007. But the broadest unemployment indicator, U-6, is still higher than it was. U-6 includes discouraged and underemployed workers — respectively, those who’d like jobs but are not actively looking, and part-timers who would like to work more hours. In 2006 Vermont’s U-6 rate averaged 6.4 percent; in 2014, 8.8 percent.

Rising poverty

Vermont Business Magazine According to The RE/MAX INTEGRA, New England September Monthly Housing Report, year-over-year sales in Vermont increased by 9.8 percent. Pending sales were up 10 percent over September 2014. But home prices were down nearly 1 percent to $195,000, which was the only decline in New England. Despite the brisk number of sales, Vermont ranked lowest in New England. Overall, the residential market in the region remained strong through September 2015, with sales up 15 percent and pending sales up 14 percent over September 2014. New Hampshire led this growth with an impressive 20 percent increase in sales year-over-year, while average days on market in the state decreased by 12.5 percent. Vermont had the highest DOM at 165. Rhode Island was lowest at 65 DOM.

Month-over-month in New England, the market followed traditional seasonal trends with a 10.7 percent decrease in sales and slight decrease in median price.

Vermont Business MagazineVermont Secretary of State Jim Condos announced Thursday the roll-out of a new online voter registration system, “My Voter Page” online voter resource tool, and a new statewide voter checklist and elections management system to be used by all town and city clerks in Vermont.

“Government is strengthened when more Vermonters engage in the electoral process and vote,” said Governor Peter Shumlin. “This is just the latest effort by Secretary Condos to ensure there are no barriers to participation in our democracy. Vermont’s democracy will be a better place for it.”

Vermont Business Magazine HNI Corporation (NYSE: HNI) today Wednesday that sales for the third quarter ended October 3, 2015, of $615.9 million and net income of $40.8 million, or $0.90 per diluted share. Non-GAAP net income per diluted share improved 14.8 percent from the prior year quarter to $0.93, which excludes restructuring and transition costs. Last fall, HNI bought Vermont Castings and announced last spring that it would close certain plants, including one in Vermont. Following its acquistition of Vermont Castings last fall, it announced in March 2015 that it would close the Bethel, Vermont, plant, with the loss of about 40 workers. It also has a larger hearth manufacturing plant in Randolph with about 100 employees.

Vermont Business Magazine If there's one thing that socially responsible businesses have learned, it's that they can't go at it alone. Whether it's implementing responsible sourcing initiatives or creating a positive corporate model to make an impact on sustainability, there is strength in numbers. So where did Vermont-based Ben & Jerry's turn for help and inspiration for its latest ice cream flavor? Colorado-based New Belgium Brewing. Never has the phrase "polishing off a pint" been so perfectly poised in any partnership for a delicious double-entendre.

Vermont Business Magazine iSystems, LLC, the company behind Evolution HCM, has hired Theodore I Les, CPA, as the company's Chief Financial Officer. Les is a finance executive with proven experience and success in growing software-as-a-service (SaaS), technology and service-oriented organizations. With an undergraduate degree in management from Babson College and Executive Program in Business Management from MIT Sloan School of Management, Les started his career with the public accounting firm Arthur Andersen & Company. From there he advanced his financial and business career to hold executive management positions with renowned Internet pioneer Bolt Beranek & Newman (BBN Corp.) and GTE. For the past 15 years, Les served as the CFO for technology innovator Cambridge Research & Instrumentation, Inc (CRi) and Agreements Based Billing market leader MetaTech Corp.

by Mike Faher/The Commons When describing the Vermont Chamber of Commerce’s lobbying efforts, Betsy Bishop employs the standard devices — pie charts, anecdotes, and a few “offense” and “defense” football analogies. But the chamber’s president also has a relatively new tool, and it’s got no pictures or brightly colored graphs. Instead, it’s a dense, still-expanding document running to nearly three pages and featuring more than 50 bullet points detailing taxes, fees, and mandates that have been imposed recently on Vermont residents and businesses — as well as those that could be considered in 2016.

Betsy Bishop

Vermont Business Magazine People's United Bank, NA has announced that its subsidiary, People's United Insurance Agency (PUIA), has acquired Kesten-Brown Insurance, a Bridgeport, CT-based insurance brokerage firm. "We are pleased to announce the acquisition of Kesten-Brown, a firm focused on commercial lines and employee benefits," said Jack Barnes, President and Chief Executive Officer. "This transaction will further diversify revenues through additional non-interest income as well as bolster our insurance business. People's United ranks as the 12th largest bank nationally in terms of insurance brokerage fee income."

"This addition provides us with an opportunity to expand the range of products and services we offer, attracting new clients and providing our existing clients with an even broader array of options for their insurance and risk management needs," said Dan Casey, President and Chief Executive Officer, PUIA.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont is Number 2... lowest. Consumers save an average of $295 (16 percent) per year when they purchase their car and homeowner's insurance from the same company, according to a new insuranceQuotes.com report. In Vermont it's only $174. The states with the highest average annual savings are Louisiana ($548), Oklahoma ($489), Texas ($429), Mississippi ($405) and Kansas ($403).

Hawaii improved the most from last year (66 percent, from an average savings of $116 to $192), followed closely by Florida (65 percent). Residents of 36 states currently save more by bundling than they did last year.

Idaho ($172), Vermont ($174), Utah ($183), West Virginia ($184) and Virginia ($189) have the lowest average annual savings. In West Virginia, the average bundling discount dropped 26 percent from last year, more than any other state.