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Jobs in New Haven, Connecticut, United States
Congregationalists founded the first English colony in central Connecticut in 1636 and soon settled throughout the state. They obtained a royal charter in 1662 and governed until 1818. The state has a strong maritime tradition. During the 19th century it also became a major center for financial services and manufacturing.
Irish and southeastern European immigrants came to work in the factories and introduced Catholicism. In the 1950s and 60s, economic expansion led to an influx of Puerto Rican and African-American workers, but 71 percent of the state’s population of 3.5 million is still non-Hispanic and white, and their religious traditions remain influential.
Ending of the Cold War and endemic corruption led to a period of late-20th century decline, but since 2008 the economy has begun to rebound. Finance, insurance and real estate now account for a third of the state’s GDP. manufacturing, the arts and tourism are also important. Affluent communities within commuting distance from New York make Connecticut a high-income state, but wealth is unevenly distributed and many older industrial cities are now impoverished.
NEW HAVEN – Cultural Capital of Connecticut
Portrait of Contemporary New Haven
With a population of 130,000, New Haven is the second largest city in the state of Connecticut. It is located in affluent New Haven County beside an inlet on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. New Haven is the hub of the Greater New Haven metropolitan area. The coastal cities and towns in New Haven County also feed the Greater New York metropolitan area. New Haven is both an Ivy League college town and a former industrial center in decline.
Median household income is well below both US and state averages. Unemployment is quite high, and more than a quarter of the population lives in poverty. Yale University is the largest employer in Greater New Haven, followed by health care, professional services, financial services and retail trade. Hispanics (all races, 33%), Black African-Americans (30%) and Non-Hispanic Whites (28%). together account for 91% of the city’s current population.
Many workers commute into New Haven daily from the surrounding suburbs. Besides the downtown business district and New Haven Green where Yale is located, New Haven has a mixture of (i) relatively well-maintained and safe high-end and student neighborhoods and (ii) rundown, vandalized and crime-ridden working class neighborhoods.
Since around 2000, investors have begun to redevelop the downtown area surrounding New Haven Green. 360 State Street is the largest residential/retail block in Connecticut. Several boutique retail shops and upscale restaurants have also located nearby. More such development is planned.
Natural Environment
Two trap rock ridges north of the city center have been developed as parks. West Rock Park is a state park with scenic trails. East Rock Park is maintained by a civic organization. It offers naturalistic landscaping, spaces for various sports, playgrounds and picnic areas.
New Haven is known for its stately trees and the pedestrian trail around New Haven Harbor. The climate is continental, with cold, snowy winters and warm, humid summers.
Early History and Industrial Revolution
In 1638 New Haven was laid out in nine equal squares, becoming the first planned city in America. In 1706, the Puritans established a college to train religious and civic leaders for the Connecticut colony. The college was renamed Yale in 1718.New Haven has retained its reputation as an elite center of learning ever since. Early in the 19th century, the northern part of the city developed into an important manufacturing center, following the invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney, a Yale graduate. Later many Italians migrated to New Haven to work in the arms factories. Production of armaments continued throughout much of the 20th century. After WWII African Americans and Puerto Ricans arrived to augment the work force and white professionals moved to the suburbs. The city’s housing stock deteriorated and crime rates rose sharply. New Haven lost most of its factories during the general deindustrialization of the 1970s and 80s, resulting in further degradation in some parts of the city.
Amenities and Cultural Attractions
Cultural attractions affiliated with Yale include: Yale University Art Gallery, Yale Center for British Art, Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Collection, Yale Collection of Musical Instruments, Yale School of Music Concerts and Yale Repertory Theater. Other offerings include Shubert Theater, Long Wharf Theater, College Street Music Hall, Little Italy and New Haven Museum.
