Turnaround in sight?

Numbers show slowing growth of Conn. jobless claims, but pressure remains

Connecticut, Rhode Island and Vermont ranked in the top 10 for the number of people coming off unemployment as of May 23 — three days after Gov. Ned Lamont issued an order order allowing a limited reopening of restaurants and retailers, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s weekly update posted Thursday morning.

“Pressure on the growing of unemployment claims is certainly easing — but we still have substantial claim activity,” said Kurt Westby, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Labor, speaking Thursday on a media call.

In the week following the rebound, thousands filed initial claims for benefits, according to figures.

After paying out $2.2 billion in claims by workers thrown out of work during the coronavirus crisis, Connecticut plans to borrow more than $300 million from the federal government to bolster its trust fund, with the possibility of levying additional payroll taxes on businesses down the road to pay back the money if no waiver is in the offing.

As of Wednesday, Westby reported the state labor department had processed more than 566,000 claims triggering benefit payments.

As a raw number, that equates to 35 percent of Connecticut’s employed population as of February. On Friday, the U.S. Department of Labor is slated to update unemployment estimates reflecting surveys from mid-May. Connecticut’s jobless rate is expected to pop significantly from the 8 percent figure DOL reported for April, which state and private-sector economists have said masks the true level.

For the week ending May 30, DOL logged nearly 14,300 new applications for jobless benefits in Connecticut, some of them independent contractors who in late May were allowed to submit applications as part of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.

On Monday, Lamont allowed hair salons to resume service, putting thousands statewide back to work. Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun opened their casino floors as well, with the resorts among the largest employers in Connecticut.

DOL reported nearly 23,000 fewer Connecticut residents receiving jobless compensation as of May 23 than there were a week earlier, leaving close to 250,000 residents receiving benefits as of that date. That 8.4 percent decline trailed only Rhode Island among Northeast states, with Kentucky leading the United States with a 16 percent reduction.

“We are seeing a beginning of a decline, we think, in continuing claims,” said Andy Condon, a researcher in the state Department of Labor, speaking Thursday. “It would seem to indicate, at least in some cases, that there are people going back to work.”

Associated Press Trey’s Barbershop owner Trey Maestri gives a trim on Monday in Southington. Gov. Ned Lamont allowed barbers and hair salons to reopen on June 1, a possible prelude to a decline in the number of residents receiving unemployment insurance as the state’s economy reopens in stages in June.