MIDDLEBURY | Vermont has pockets of growth, mainly in urban and semi-urban centers and Addison County is considered one of them.
A recent commentary by retired University of Vermont economist Art Woolf addressed the disparities within Vermont — for example, why Vermont jobs and better incomes exist in clusters, mostly in Chittenden and Addison counties?
“Why the big differences among all these cities and towns, with a (salary) range between $30,000 and $140,000? Some are due to the nature of jobs in the area, some the skill levels of the population — and those two are very much interrelated. … More job opportunities, better education and skill training for workers and a more fertile environment for businesses and entrepreneurs to flourish are all important and widely recognized as such. But they are very hard to design and implement.”
Woolf has become one of Vermont’s most visible economic soothsayers, being quoted by Democrats and Republicans alike. He has been known to cite systemic Vermont problems including housing costs, youth flight, the birth rate, poverty and the high cost of education.
In recent comments that earned a “fact check” response from VTDigger, Gov. Phil Scott said that the decision to close the Energizer plant was “an unfortunate example of why those of us in Montpelier need to work together to make Vermont a more affordable place to do business and make sure our policies help businesses thrive rather than creating unique burdens and barriers to growth that make us less competitive with other states.”
Despite VTDigger’s critique of the governor, Rob Roper, president of the Ethan Allen Institute, defended Scott’s remarks in a Nov. 8 commentary.
“Why is it we never hear of businesses closing factories or offices in other states and moving jobs to Vermont? The Tax Foundation recently rated Vermont’s business climate as 44th in the nation, and CNBC rated us 40th. These ratings are not unique. Clearly, we have a problem. Scott was absolutely correct to point it out,” Roper wrote.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, new jobs records were set in October.
A record 158,510,000 Americans are now working, and the national labor force participation rate reached a Trump-era high of 63.3 percent. The unemployment rate for black Americans hit a record low of 5.4 percent. ■
