Unemployment in both New York and Connecticut fell 0.1 percent between April and May, with preliminary estimates from the U.S. Department of Labor suggesting the Empire State added 21,000 jobs in May and Connecticut more than 5,000.
In a statement, Gov. M. Jodi Rell attributed much of the gains in Connecticut to the addition of U.S. Census workers. The business services sector added an estimated 2,800 jobs as well, however ”“ an important bellwether for the overall economy given the inclusion of temporary employment agencies in that figure, whose hiring is seen as a prelude to an overall recovery.
“While it is important to note that the Census jobs are temporary, we have now seen five consecutive months of job gains,” Rell said. “Those nearly 15,000 new jobs are bringing more financial security to Connecticut families who have struggled through this recession.”
If state estimates are correct, Connecticut”™s arts and entertainment sector shed 2,000 jobs between April and May, a nearly 8 percent drop. The Connecticut Department of Labor relies on employer surveys for industry job estimates, which at times can distort reported figures; and Connecticut does not adjust industry and county-level data for season considerations.
The construction industry sawed off another 1,300 jobs, a 2.5 percent hit according to the state, despite the onset of warmer weather that kicks many projects into gear.
In May, New York unemployment was 8.4 percent and Connecticut”™s 8.9 percent, both well below the U.S. jobless rate of 9.7 percent. While Connecticut unemployment is up 0.7 percent compared with May 2009, New York”™s rate is down 0.1 percent on a year-over-year basis.
In the Northeast, New Hampshire has the lowest unemployment at 6.4 percent, while Rhode Island has the worst rate at 12.3 percent.
“With five months of positive employment growth, this may be the best indicator yet that we have slowly begun a certain turning point toward recovery,” Salvatore DiPillo, statistics supervisor at the Connecticut Department of Labor, said in a statement. “However, job growth will continue to be hard fought, and we may very well see months when the employment numbers show little inclination to move upward. Over the course of this recession, Connecticut has lost more than 103,000 jobs, and while we have recovered significant ground since the beginning of this year, the state continues its struggle to regain its footing and return to the peak employment rates of March 2008.”
The Frito-Lay division of Purchase-based PepsiCo Inc. is getting a $3 million grant from the state of Connecticut for a 100,000-square-foot expansion at a production plant in Killingly, Conn.
In addition, the Connecticut Development Authority approved a sales-and-use tax exemption of up to $1.5 million on construction materials for the project, which among other improvements will include a larger wastewater treatment system.
The project is expected to preserve 500 jobs and cost $66 million in all, with Connecticut”™s contribution coming under the state”™s Urban Act grant program. Frito-Lay has its main offices in Plano, Texas. For the quarter ending March 20, Frito-Lay had a $770 million operating profit on nearly $3.1 billion in revenue.
Separately, school-bus transportation company First Student Inc. is closing a Bridgeport facility, at a cost of 210 jobs. Cincinnati-based First Student disclosed the Bridgeport action in a filing with the Connecticut Department of Labor. Workers at the company”™s Bridgeport facility are represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 191.
