New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
State adds more than 20K jobs
Connecticut’s economy gained 20,400 jobs in August, as its employment levels rose for a fourthstraight month following unprecedented job losses sparked by the coronavirus crisis this spring, according to preliminary data released Thursday by the state Department of Labor.
At the same time, the labor department reported that the originally calculated July job increase was revised upward by 5,800 to 32,300.
Following a record decline of about 291,000 positions across March and April, Connecticut has recouped a total of nearly 160,000 positions in the past four months. But employment in the state is still down year-over-year by nearly 119,000, equal to a decline of 7 percent.
“With these numbers, it’s continuing on a positive trend,” Chris DiPentima, CEO and president of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association, said in an interview. “Overall, we’re slowly making progress.”
The official unemployment rate listed in the labor department’s August report, 8.1 percent, dropped 2.1 percentage points from July, and compared with a national rate of 8.4 percent
Experts agree, however, that the jobless rate — which is based on a household survey — significantly understates the actual unemployment rate. In mid-August, Connecticut’s jobless rate in fact ran “in the range of” 14 percent to 15 percent, labor department officials estimated.
The number of added jobs — based on a survey of employers — is also a preliminary number and subject to significant revisions even in more stable times. During the coronavirus crisis, the numbers could be even less reliable because employers might have workers on short-term furloughs that are changing rapidly.
Eight of the 10 major industries in the state added jobs last month. Education and health led with a gain of 8,600, followed by increases of 4,200 for leisure and hospitality, 3,700 for government and 2,500 for trade, transportation and utilities.
But a key sector experienced a noticeable decrease. Manufacturing dropped 1,500 jobs last month, or 1 percent of its total workforce — a trend driven by sluggish commercial aerospace demand.
The toll of the pandemic is also evident in the number of those seeking assistance.
About 250,000 people in the state are filing for unemployment assistance on a weekly basis. On Monday, the labor department announced that unemployed workers would start receiving a $300-per-week supplemental benefit.
Connecticut has contained COVID-19 better than most states, but significant uncertainty hangs over a recovery that could take years to complete.
Major variables include workers’ ability to balance their jobs with new schedules for schoolaged children, the role of federal stimulus and unemploymentbenefit programs and the possibility of a resurgence of coronavirus cases within the next few months.
“The recovery is still very fragile,” DiPentima said. “We need Congress to act. We need them to end the deadlock and get another round of stimulus out there.”