Connecticut lost 5,700 jobs from January to February, but the state’s unemployment rate decreased a tenth of a percentage point to 8 percent, the state Department of Labor reported today.
Private sector employment fell by 6,600 positions, or 0.5 percent, from January to February. Since February 2012, the private sector added 4,000 jobs, according to the Labor Department.
The Labor Department said the decline could be a result of storm-related disruptions from the February blizzard.
“Though our data can”™t point at any specific regions or industry sectors that would confirm the winter storm hampered job growth in February, that result seems likely,” said Andy Condon, research director for the Labor Department, in a prepared statement. “On the plus side, we continue to see the state”™s unemployment rate decline, if only at a modest pace.”
For the first time in three months, government jobs increased on a monthly basis. Government employment in Connecticut increased by 900 in February; however, since 2010, the public sector has lost a total of 7,500 jobs – more than were lost during all of the recession.
