Connecticut”™s jobless rate jumped to 8.9 percent in December, with Fairfield County-area businesses shedding 1,900 workers, according to estimates by the Connecticut Department of Labor.
Between November and December, Connecticut lost an estimated 4,800 jobs, and the state has now lost 94,500 jobs since March 2008 when economists start the clock ticking on the recession. The state”™s unemployment rate rose from 8.2 percent in November, even as the U.S. unemployment rate held steady at 10 percent.
Despite the onset of the holidays, Connecticut”™s retail stores shed an estimated 1,500 jobs in December, the sharpest drop of any sector in the state. Education services made the biggest gain, adding 1,200 jobs according to DOL surveys.
Employment remained stable in the financial services sector, a key component of Fairfield County”™s economy. In lower Fairfield County, unemployment rose from 7.5 percent in November to 7.8 percent in December, and the Danbury area saw a similar increase, from 6.8 percent to 7.1 percent.
“While job losses continue to hamper the growth of Connecticut”™s economy, we still see a few bright spots that indicate the state is beginning to experience some slow but positive improvement,” said Salvatore DiPillo, state labor statistics supervisor, in a statement. “The number of initial unemployment claims decreased by more than 700 from November to December ”“ a decline of nearly 10 percent from last year. Despite these signs, only two major sectors have shown growth in the state over the past year, and it appears significant job growth across the board is slow to arrive for Connecticut and the nation as a whole.”
