State loses jobs, unemployment rate falls

A recent job report showed Connecticut is experiencing huge job losses, while a household survey reported unemployment rates fell for the sixth consecutive month to 7.2 percent, according to the Connecticut Business and Industry Association.

Connecticut nonfarm employment fell by 10,400 jobs in January, according to the latest jobs report from the Department of Labor. Every labor market and eight of the state’s 10 supersectors experienced job losses.

Several of the 11,400 jobs that were lost is attributed to weather, said CBIA economist Peter Gioia. Four different sectors showed significant job losses, including temporary employment, construction, retail and leisure, and hospitality.

Despite the two surveys showing the job market is moving in two different directions, some consistency across the board is that employment in the manufacturing, education and health-related sectors have increased. Overall, participation in the labor market increased, too.

Although the job report and household survey show discrepancies, the annual revisions to the 2013 job numbers, which comes out later this year, will help paint “a better and clearer picture of exactly what’s going on,” Gioia said.