With Fairfield County”™s booming business sector leading Connecticut”™s economic recovery this decade, the county”™s annual August employment swoon locally nearly stopped the state from setting an all-time employment record.
The Fairfield County area shed 4,000 jobs between July and August, according to new U.S. Department of Labor figures. By comparison, Connecticut”™s estimated statewide total of 1,701,600 workers in August exceeded the previous state record set in July 2000 by 900 jobs.
The state added 1,200 jobs from this past July, and employment is up 16,600 jobs from August 2006.
Private-sector employment in the Fairfield County area was 490,900 people in August, which, while down 0.8 percent from August, remains up 1.5 percent from July 2006. The figures include data from eight towns in bordering Litchfield and New Haven counties that are considered part of Fairfield County”™s labor-market area.
In recent years, Fairfield County”™s employment dips in August were followed by a steady upswing through the holidays. Last year, the county lost nearly 3,000 jobs between July and August.
The August 2007 declines in Fairfield County occurred almost across the board. The only employment sectors to register increases were manufacturing, which added 100 jobs between July and August, and professional services, which added 200 jobs. The latter category may have been the beneficiary of companies using employment agencies to fill slots after the summer slowdown, according to the state Department of Labor.
While no one sector dominated the decline, the swing in construction employment was notable. With employment up 9.2 percent between August 2006 and August 2007, the construction sector nevertheless shed 100 jobs from this past July, possibly due to a drop in new housing starts.
After construction, Fairfield County”™s finance and insurance sector boasted the best year-over-year job gain at 3.4 percent, or 1,300 positions, though the sector lost 200 jobs from July.
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