Todd Smith: A tale of two states
The Green Mountain state has finished last or second-to-last every year since 2008. New Hampshire finished 16th, and continues to climb the chart.
Roper: False claims of falsity about Vermont’s business climate
Digger has zero evidence that Vermont’s bad business climate wasn’t the reason Energizer left. It may very well be the reason the company left. Digger doesn’t know.
Trump’s America: Black unemployment drops to lowest level in recorded U.S. history, job numbers soar
The unemployment rate for black Americans fell to 5.4 percent in October, the lowest level since the government first started recording employment data in 1972. The jobless rate in America reached a 50-year low in April 2019.
New Hampshire lands in top 10 in report on states’ business climates
A new Tax Foundation study ranks New Hampshire sixth in its 2020 State Business Tax Climate Index. Neighboring states did not fare so well in the study, which ranked Maine at 33rd, Massachusetts 36th, Vermont 44th and Connecticut 47th.
Energizer factory shutdown set for early 2021
The planned closure of the Energizer plant in Bennington won’t be immediate, a company spokeswoman said Monday afternoon.
New Hampshire employment, labor force continue to post strong numbers
Growth in the construction, hospitality and health care sectors continue to contribute to a strong employment picture in New Hampshire. The state’s labor force also grew by 1,080 from August to September, to a record-high 772,760.
Quality workshop addresses Vermont’s business trends and challenges
Vermonters looking to get a better understanding of how their businesses can handle complex political, economic and sociological trends got their chance at a workshop held last week at the Delta Hotel.
Deb Billado: Republican policies have put money in the pockets of low wage workers
According to the White House Council of Economic Advisors and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, America’s lowest-wage workers have experienced the sharpest wage hikes since the TCJA — with nominal wage increases of an astonishing 8.9 percent.
Despite savings, loggers still pay third of income into workers’ compensation
Gov. Phil Scott and other state leaders made a stop at Anderson Equipment on Wednesday to discuss a program aimed at increasing safety and lowering workers’ compensation rates for the logging industry.
Deb Billado: Vermonters benefit from Trump Opportunity Zones program
Vermont eagerly joined the program designating 25 opportunity zones from Southern Vermont to the Northeast Kingdom, representing 85,000 Vermonters. In fact, we’re starting to see the tangible benefits of this crucial tax relief program.
John Klar: Contesting the progressives’ takeover of Vermont
It has taken nearly 50 years for the hippie conquistadores to seed their Bohemian denizens in Bernieland. After a failed effort in the late 1990s to “Take Back Vermont,” the real first great test is brewing. The “new majority” will indeed be fragmented, then dispersed, as the indigenous Green Mountain population is woke.
Low unemployment in Vermont now, but is it sustainable?
Recent data about the low employment rate in the Green Mountain State is a good reason why many state boosters are bullish about the future. Yet, just like with Vermont’s undependable weather, if you happen to like the state’s current employment data — well, just wait a minute.