Ken Long, human resources director for Putnam Plastics in Danielson, believes the hiring market is unusual right now.
“The market is as crazy as I have ever seen it in my experience,” Long stated in an email “There are definitely more job openings now than there are people available as we come out of this pandemic.”
To help bring in more employees to businesses, on May 17, Gov. Ned Lamont announced the CT Back to Work program that would give 10,000 residents who have been unemployed a delayed $1,000 payment from the state for returning to work. While state unemployment data for May isn’t available yet, April’s numbers from the Connecticut Department of Labor already show some improvement, with the unemployment rate at 8.1%, compared to 8.6% this time last year. However, the opinion seems to be mixed if offering incentives is encouraging people to come back to work.
In terms of CT Back to Work, an individual earns the $1,000 after being at a job for eight weeks from now until the end of the year, after having had an unemployment claim for the week of May 23, and 11 weeks between Dec. 27 to May 22, among other requirements on the program’s frequently asked questions document.
Mohegan Sun incentives
Jeff Hamilton, president and CEO of Mohegan Sun, said it’s good to offer an incentive, but $1,000 only goes so far compared to the extra $300 in federal money given weekly for unemployment.
Mohegan Sun: Summer hiring events with $500 and $2,000 sign-on bonus
“I think it does something, but I think people are smarter than we’re giving them credit for,” Hamilton said. “They’re saying to themselves ‘I’m making this amount staying home, and this amount working. Even with…