Jobs took a few steps backward but more forward in 2014

The number of jobs declined in December, but Vermont still ended 2014 with more private sector jobs and more non-farm payroll jobs than it had at the start of the year. Private employers reported 255,400 jobs in December, an increase of 1,600 over January. The total number of jobs, both private and public, was up 900 from the beginning of the year, to 310,200.

More at work
The number of Vermonters working—either on payroll or self-employed—was higher in December than at the start of the year. But the December employment total, 337,300, was below the 2014 peak, which came last spring. The end-of-year employment tally also came in below the pre-recession high, November 2006, when nearly 345,000 Vermonters were working.

Stronger income tax growth
State tax collections have fallen short of estimates this year and last year, but the latest forecast calls for better growth in income taxes for the next two years. Vermont saw a spurt in income tax receipts after the recession bottomed out. But income taxes rose only 1.6 percent in fiscal 2014. Before the recession, income taxes grew about 6 percent a year. The next two years are expected to be closer to normal.