Connecticut's gross domestic product grew by 0.9 percent in the first quarter of 2016, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
That lagged behind both national GDP growth of 1.2 percent and New England's 1.5 percent for the quarter. Connecticut’s GDP growth was the lowest in New England.
BEA said Connecticut's overall GDP for the first quarter was over $262 billion, second only in New England to Massachusetts, which has a GDP of more than $485 billion. The two states accounted for 77 percent of the region's GDP of around $970 billion.
Casinos and the Changing Makeup of a Some Small Towns
There’s been a demographic change in Southeastern Connecticut, driven by the state’s two casinos.
The Associated Press reports that Asian immigrants have been buying homes, raising families, and growing their own food in what had once been largely white communities near Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods.
The immigrants come mainly from New York and Boston, drawn to good-paying jobs at the casinos.
The influx has caused tension with some locals, who complain about too many people crammed into homes, and of front lawns turned into large gardens to feed large families.
Town officials said enforcement, education, and more recently, big job cuts at the casinos have all helped diminish risky practices like "hot-bedding," where workers cram into houses and sleep in shifts.
