CT unemployment decreases; jobs increase
- Connecticut State Capitol in Hartford
Connecticut gained 4,100 jobs last month and the unemployment rate dropped to 5.4 percent, a full percentage point less than last July, the Connecticut Department of Labor announced.
The state is now estimated to have added 30,600 nonfarm positions, or 2,550 jobs per month, this year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics”™ survey. This is the third month in a row nonfarm employment has increased, the report said.
The unemployment rate is another decrease from last month”™s rate of 5.7 percent, the first time in seven years it fell below 6 percent. The last time the unemployment rate was 5.4 percent was May 2008. The unemployment rate this time last year was 6.4 percent.
“The pace of decline in the state”™s unemployed has accelerated in the last three months,” said Andy Condon, director of the Office of Research at the Connecticut DOL. “This has brought Connecticut”™s unemployment rate to a level nearly identical level with the U.S. average.”
The U.S. July unemployment rate was 5.3 percent. Last month, New York”™s unemployment rate was 5.5 percent and Massachusetts”™ was 4.7 percent.
Gov. Dannel Malloy said in a statement that this month marks the largest annualized nonfarm job growth pace since July 2000. The state has now recovered 97 percent of the private-sector jobs lost during the recession, he said. The private sector now needs an additional 3,400 positions to reach full, pre-recession recovery, Malloy said.
Last month 3,000 jobs were added to the private sector and it has grown by 29,800 jobs over the year, according to the bureau”™s numbers. The sector with the most job growth last month was professional and business services, which grew by 2,700 jobs.
Other growth areas were government, which declined in June; financial activities, which the report said has been slower to recover from the recession; education and health services and manufacturing.
In July there were small job losses in sectors including information; leisure and hospitality; trade, transportation and utilities and construction and mining, an industry which still grew positively over the year.
The Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk labor market area also reported solid seasonal job gains with 2,600 positions.
“Thanks to innovative initiatives at DECD and DOL, the aggressive pursuit of statewide industry expansion, and attention to economic drivers like transportation and education, we are well on our way to achieving pre-recession jobs recovery,” Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman said.
Malloy said the report shows progress, but he is not completely satisfied.
“We are going to continue fighting for more good paying jobs with good benefits as we engage with companies like never before,” Malloy said. “This report is another step into the future for Connecticut.”