In school, if students score 92 percent on an exam, that is considered quite good. In church, if 92 percent of members regularly attend worship services, that is considered very good. Yet, we constantly moan about our current 92 percent employment rate. Don't get me wrong. I care about the unemployed. 8 percent unemployment can be lower. However, many countries around the world would love to have our 8 percent unemployment. In rounded numbers, by contrast France is currently at 11, Italy 12, Poland 13, Ireland 14, Portugal 18, South Africa 25, Greece 27, Palestine 27, Spain 27, Bosnia 44 and Congo 50.
I track local jobs East of the River as part of my local Tolland County Economy TV show, which airs weekly on Thursday evenings at 7 pm on Comcast channel 5 (CVC). Each month, we uncover hundreds of local jobs. My dad, who died a year ago tomorrow, raised me to have a strong work ethic. "Where there's a will, there's a way" he used to say. I think he was right. Generally speaking, if someone in today's culture really wants work, there is work. If someone doesn't like the jobs that are out there, they can do what I did 25 years ago and start their own business from scratch! Entrepreneurship is no picnic, but it is an alterative to the traditional job market. Either way, there is much more opportunity here in Connecticut than many people think, partly because they are bombarded with negativity in the media.
