The City of Hartford needs to be a job magnet for the region by retaining and attracting more businesses that create high paying jobs here in the Capital City.  As the job hub of the state, Hartford is home to about 116,000 jobs and must find creative and inventive ways to produce more employment opportunities.  Right now the jobs are primarily in the fields of finance, insurance, education, health, government, and professional management.  About half of these jobs require a Bachelor’s degree or higher.  And that number will only grow especially in the areas of technology and environmental or green studies.

One of our most economic engines is our Arts and Heritage Community.  Other towns, cities, and regions are envious of our Arts Mecca because the local dollars that are spent here stay here and are reinvested, creating a positive financial ripple effect.  That is one reason why Hartford continues its Arts and Heritage Jobs Grant stimulus package--- first by investing more than $1 million in city funds to create approximately 350 job opportunities in arts related positions and then with Federal Stimulus dollars to jumpstart small Hartford based arts entrepreneurships--- to create even more employment.  

Probably our biggest job creation success story is our school construction and renovation projects.  Fourteen schools are either complete or underway, providing a more positive learning environment for our youngsters--- our future leaders.  More than 1,200 Hartford residents have worked about 545,000 hours earning more than $13.5 million in wages.  This is a lasting tribute to the future of our great City and all 17 of its neighborhoods.

Neighborhood Development stimulates the economy, making our communities more vibrant.  We're building on a decade of success to ensure a brighter future.  Our skyline has changed thanks to the Connecticut Science Center, the Marriott, the Connecticut Convention Center, and Hartford 21.... just to name a few structures.  When you look closer, you see that we have redefined, reshaped, and restructured our housing (check out Dutch Point) our streetscapes (drive along Park Street or Trumbull Street), and how we work and play (South End Wellness Center and neighborhood marketplaces).  Albany Avenue--- a street rich in history as well as being a major artery in the City--- now boasts progress from the new Performing Arts Center at the University of Hartford all the way up to the new Public Safety Complex where High Street meets Main and Albany.  Connections like this will only grow and help Hartford be more prosperous in the future as we utilize our gateways and better connect Hartford to the region and our neighborhoods to each other.  Those connections and building towards a comprehensive plan for a better tomorrow is the foundation of our "One City, One Plan (POCD 2020). Learn more at www.hartford.gov/oneplan.

Education, access, and opportunity--- they are the keys to a bright horizon on Hartford’s job front, because ultimately, it leads to empowerment for the people of this richly diverse City.

Eddie A. Perez

Mayor