1. Connecticut
- GDP growth rate: -0.1%
Situated just north of New York City, Connecticut is a hub for finance and insurance. Unfortunately for Connecticut, those sectors are still grappling with the fallout from the 2008 financial crisis. Those industries were the biggest drag on the state's economy in 2012, according to a recent report from the Commerce Department.
The industry still has 8,000 fewer positions in the state now than it did in 2008, according to the Connecticut Department of Labor.
"These companies have gone through some dramatic changes over the last four years," said Susan Winkler, head of the Connecticut Insurance and Financial Industries Cluster, a trade group.
Winkler hopes that as the details of the financial reform law known as Dodd-Frank get worked out, firms will begin hiring again in greater numbers.
