Gov. Malloy Continues Statewide 'Jobs Tour'

With unemployment in the state at a record high, Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy continued his jobs tour program Wednesday afternoon and met with executives at FactSet, a provider of global financial and economic information, at their headquarters in southern Connecticut.

Malloy didn't need the Norwalk-based company to tell him the state economy is slumping and the unemployment rate is over 9 percent, but he did have a message for residents of the state who are out of work and hoping to see their situations improve.

"We're serious. We're open for business again and we're going to change our practices," Malloy said. "We're going to give answers more quickly. We're going have infrastructure investments to allow people to move though our state, and move goods throughout state."

Malloy, who was joined by Catherine Smith, commissioner of economic and community development, said there are a number of things that have to happen, including Japan's rapid recovery from its natural disaster, the debt situation in Washington and the downsizing of state and local governments. 

"It could allow us to roll unemployment over the next two years," Malloy said. "We wouldn't get to full employment at 5 percent, but something more normal like 7.5 percent is possible. But that's with a lot of ifs."

Malloy sought out and set up a meeting with FactSet, one of the biggest employers in Fairfield County, and discussed economic development and strategies for the creation of new jobs. 

"We're a growing employer in the state, "FactSet CEO Philip Hadley said. "We started out as a small business when we moved her in 1990 and now have more than 600 employees. "He [Malloy] is very interested in job growth and we're a good model for it."