Connecticut Unemployment Commission records

The Commission originated in December 1930 with the appointment, jointly by Governor Trumbull and Governor-elect Cross, or a committee to cooperate with other state and national agencies in investigating and mitigating the effects of the existing serious unemployment and to encourage employers to gather statistics and information with a view toward finding a solution to the problem. This group, named the Connecticut State Emergency Committee on Employment, was headed by James W. Hook, with Richard I. Neithercut as Executive Secretary. It held a number of meetings, conducted surveys of town and city activities, and reported its recommendations to the Governor on February 19, 1931.

In July 1931 the Committee was succeeded by the Connecticut Unemployment Commission, with almost identical membership and responsibilities, authorized by the General Assembly under Special Acts, 191, Ch. 468. It also held meetings, conducted surveys and educational programs, and reported its findings in Measures to Alleviate Unemployment in Connecticut (December 1932_). It maintained its office in Hartford Under Mr. Neithercut and an office in New Haven under Eleanor H. Little, Research Secretary. Like the earlier Committee, it attempted to stimulate and coordinate the work of local groups working in employment and relief problems and it served as the State point of contact for United states Government activities such as the Army distribution of salvaged clothing, the Farm Board sale of wheat and cotton, and the C.C.C. Employment program. In May 1933 the Federal Emergency Relief Act signaled the beginning of the major relief program, and the Connecticut General Assembly created the Connecticut Emergency Relief Commission on June 7, 1933, to handle federal relief funds and to supervise the issue of bonds by towns. The new agency therefore replaced the Unemployment Commission, which went out of existence at the end of June 1933.