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.
“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.”
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.
New Jersey likewise saw unemployment drop 0.1 percent between April and May to 9.7 percent, up 0.5 percent from a year ago.
Nationally between April and May, just six states had unemployment go up, with Nevada displacing Michigan as the state with the highest unemployment at 14 percent. North Dakota leads the nation with a 3.6 percent unemployment rate.
In the Northeast, New Hampshire has the lowest unemployment at 6.4 percent, while Rhode Island has the worst rate at 12.3 percent.
