March job growth nearly flat in Connecticut

Private sector job growth in March was flat with only modest gains in government work, according to the latest job growth report from the Connecticut Department of Labor.

The department”™s March Labor Situation Report estimates the government supersector added 300 jobs from the previous month, bringing the total to 237,800 jobs, but has seen an overall decline of 1,400 jobs since March 2015.

Private sector employment was unchanged in March and now totals 1,447,800 jobs, an overall increase of 16,400 jobs since March 2015.

The largest job gains were in the trade, transportation and utilities supersector with 1,300 jobs gained followed by transportation, warehousing, and utility components, which picked up 900 jobs. The leisure and hospitality super sector gained 500 jobs.

The construction and mining supersector experienced the greatest losses, 1,100 jobs, “which seemed unusual considering the warm weather,” the labor report noted.

Minor job losses were also posted from the manufacturing supersector, 200 jobs, and financial activities, 100 jobs.

The Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford region led the state in job growth with 1,100 jobs added in March followed by the Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk region, which gained 1,000 jobs, a 0.2 percent increase to now total 411,900 jobs

On the unemployment front, the statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 5.7 percent, a two-tenths of a percent increase from the 5.5 percent unemployment rate in February.

Andy Condon, director of the office of research for the labor department said the rise in unemployment was unexpected, but pointed to some silver-linings.

“The rise in unemployment occurred in a growing labor force, meaning it was driven by more people entering the labor market looking for work rather than a decrease in the number of employed,” he said. “Job growth is occurring, but not fast enough to employ all of those recently entering the market.”

Pete Gioia, an economist with the state”™s largest business industry, the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA), said the news is a continued sign of the state”™s struggle to adjust to a new economic reality.

According to the CBIA, year over year the state has added 15,000 new jobs. Of those, only 800 were in manufacturing, and 100 in finance and insurance ”” typically higher paying jobs.  The majority of new jobs added over the last year were in the leisure and hospitality sector (4,600) and trade, transportation, and utilities (3,900).

“This only exacerbates the problems that Connecticut is facing, including fiscal instability with the state budget,” said Gioia.  “Nothing would be a stronger confidence builder, or be a better catalyst for strong economic growth than for the legislature to close the state budget gap without adding to the cost and burdens of creating and maintaining jobs.”

Overall, Connecticut has now recovered 91,400 jobs, or 76.7 percent of the 119,100 seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs that were lost in the state during the March 2008- Feb. 2010 employment recession, according to the Labor Department. The state”™s private sector has recovered 90.7 percent of the jobs that were lost during the recession, regaining 101,300 jobs of the 111,700 private sector positions that were lost.

The unemployment rate nationwide currently sits at 5 percent and according to data cited by the CBIA, the nation has regained 161 percent of jobs lost during the recession.