The Connecticut Department of Labor reported a gain of 14,100 jobs in October, a 0.9% uptick following a revised increase in September. Compared to last year, however, the state saw the loss of 89,800 positions, a 5.3% evaporation.
The preliminary September job gain of 17,000 was revised higher by 1,000 jobs. Connecticut”™s unemployment rate in October was 6.1%, down from 7.8% in September.
Private sector employment increased last month by 11,200 (0.8%) to 1,376,400 jobs, but has a deficit of 76,800 jobs (-5.3%) from October 2019. The government supersector regained 2,900 jobs (1.3%) to a total of 223,800 but is lower by 13,000 jobs (-5.5%) from one year earlier. The local government segment gained 4,600, up 3.4%, but Connecticut-based federal government employment lost 1,600 jobs with the completion of the U.S. Census.
Within Fairfield County, the Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk corridor grew by 3,300 net jobs in October, a 0.9% increase, while the Greater Danbury area lost 500 positions for a 0.7% drop.
“Nearly all sectors added jobs in October, and Connecticut has now regained more than two-thirds of the private sector jobs that were lost in March and April,” said Patrick Flaherty, Acting Director of the Office of Research at the Connecticut Department of Labor. “Transportation and warehousing is more than 90% recovered. The drop in the unemployment rate is consistent with other data, but the level of the unemployment rate is lower than would be indicated by the number of unemployment insurance claims.”
