A vote on a proposed economic stimulus package could take place in Congress as early as next week. Consumers goods and IT companies lead in innovation rankings, and more people are buying a home without seeing it first. In Connecticut, the state continues to advance efforts to vaccinate residents and provide more information about COVID-19 vaccines, while Electric Boat prepares to bring on thousands of new workers in the coming years.
National
House Democrats are looking to schedule a vote on a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill by the end of next week. The bill includes measures such as direct payments and extended unemployment benefits, and Democrats are hoping to approve a measure before federal unemployment programs expire on March 14; Republicans have largely criticized the measure as too costly and unnecessary, although some have expressed support for a smaller stimulus measure.
Business trends
Sight-unseen home purchases have become more common during the COVID-19 pandemic. Low mortgage rates and increased competition for available inventory has new homebuyers relying more on virtual walkthroughs, online loan applications, and other digital tools to buy a property.
Companies specializing in consumer staples have proved to be the most innovative, according to an annual ranking released by the Drucker Institute in partnership with the Wall Street Journal. The Management 250 list found that consumer staples had the greatest concentration of companies with high rankings on innovation, although the information technology sector still had the highest average score.
Connecticut
General Dynamics Electric Boat is looking to hire thousands of workers over the next decade to meet the demand for new submarine production and fill positions opened by retiring employees. Workforce development entities have pledged to offer training to meet this demand, and will also seek out workers left unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic to encourage them to pursue a career with the company.
Connecticut is partnering with Health Equity Solutions in an attempt to provide information to as many communities as possible about the COVID-19 vaccines. The outreach effort will take place over three months and aim to provide facts and dispel myths about the vaccines, particularly among people of color.
Mohegan Sun will be the site of a mass COVID-19 vaccine clinic beginning today. Governor Ned Lamont announced that the casino’s Earth Expo & Convention Center will begin issuing vaccines by appointment, serving up to 300 people on the first day.
