The first year of the recession hit hard in Vermont's private sector, especially in construction and manufacturing. About 6 percent of private sector jobs have disappeared since the recession started nearly two years ago. But the losses have also spread to the public sector in 2009, as state government made cuts to reduce state spending. The administration is on track to reduce the number of state jobs by more than 8 percent by the end of the year — eliminating a total of over 700 positions.
A new report, State of Working Vermont 2009
"We have to recognize that there are negative consequences to cutting the state payroll," said Public Assets Institute president Paul Cillo. "In the private sector, companies have to lay off workers because there is no work for them. We’re seeing cuts in state services just when the recession is forcing more and more people to turn to state government for help. And to the extent the administration is laying off state workers, it is making the recession worse and increasing the cost of unemployment."
According to the report, Vermont had lost more of its private sector jobs through the end of August than any of the other New England states. Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the number of private sector jobs in Vermont dropped by more than 15,000.
The State of Working Vermont is a report issued annually by Public Assets Institute in conjunction with the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. To show the status of working Vermonters, the report uses U.S. Census data from 2008 supplemented by the latest jobs and employment data from the Vermont Department of Labor and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Public Assets Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes sound budget and tax policies to benefit all Vermonters. Additional information is available at www.publicassets.org
Source: Public Assets Institute. 10.3.2009.
Institute says Vermont has lost 6 percent of private sector jobs
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