By Keith M. Phaneuf
The gap between Connecticut’s top wage earners and others continues to grow in the aftermath of the Great Recession, according to a new study that also warns the “have-nots” make up an increasing share of the state’s population.
Connecticut Voices for Children, a New Haven-based nonprofit public policy group, also used its annual Labor Day weekend report to highlight shrinking manufacturing jobs and to outline growing economic problems for black, Hispanic and younger workers.
“The recession and recovery have worsened opportunity gaps and set us on an economically devastating course,” said Orlando Rodriguez, senior policy fellow at Connecticut Voices and co-author of the report, which was released today. “We can no longer afford to delay action.”
The state’s median hourly wage has declined since the recession began, from $20.61 in 2008 to $20.29 in 2011, after adjusting for inflation.
Most of the growth recorded over that period involved Connecticut’s highest wage-earners. Workers in the top 10 percent of earners saw their average hourly rate rise from $46.10 to $47.87. Among the top 20 percent, the hourly rate rose from $35.09 to $36.08.
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