Fairfield County registered stunning job numbers in the second quarter, with employers reporting they added nearly 14,000 positions between March and June.
The region added 4,300 jobs in June alone, according to estimates by the state Department of Labor (DOL), pushing its total job count back above the half-million mark for the first time since December 2007.
While DOL does not adjust county-level employment figures for seasonal considerations such as summer hiring, the June 2008 job numbers are well ahead of those a year ago as well.
What”™s more, DOL does take seasonal employment trends into account for its statewide figures, which mirrored that of Fairfield County. Connecticut added 3,600 jobs between May and June, with the unemployment rate holding steady at 5.4 percent, just below the U.S. rate of 5.5 percent.
Danbury continues to have the lowest unemployment rate for major employment centers in the state at 4.5 percent, while coastal Fairfield County”™s rate was 5.3 percent.
After dire forecasts this year for the state budget, Rell announced last week that Connecticut appears to have cleared the fiscal year ending in June with a $22 million surplus, and asked the Connecticut General Assembly to convene a special session next month to author a bill to distribute the funds for home heating assistance for the coming winter.
The latest job figures warmed expectations for the second half, though officials cautioned a chill remains.
“Over the last two months, the state has gained back 6,900 of the 7,600 jobs lost in the first four months of this year,” said John Tirinzonie, a DOL economist, in a written statement. “While June”™s numbers are good news for this state, sooner or later the effects of the national slowdown ”“ if it continues ”“ likely will overshadow any bright spots we have here in Connecticut.”
Those gray areas include average weekly initial claims for unemployment benefits, which jumped from 4,500 in May to 5,000 last month. Earlier this month, the state extended an additional 13 weeks of benefits for unemployed people following passage of a federal law authorizing such a measure. Gov. M. Jodi Rell”™s office indicated as many as 120,000 people in Connecticut may be eligible for the extended benefits.
Still, a rebound in New York”™s job numbers ”“ the first increase in five months ”“ could help Fairfield County sustain its performance. Westchester, Putnam and Rockland counties in New York added 7,500 jobs between May and June, while New York City held steady with a slight increase in jobs.
