Connecticut’s run of good job news hits snag
Revised numbers in August belied by September drop
Connecticut’s accelerating job growth hit a speed bump as it lost 500 jobs in September, according to a report issued Thursday by the state’s Department of Labor. At the same time, August’s initial report of 1,100 jobs gained was revised to an increase of 3,300, which tempers the September news.
For the year, Connecticut has added 19,900 jobs. The state’s unemployment rate fell one-tenth of a point to 4.2 percent. The U.S. unemployment rate is 3.7 percent.
“Despite the drop of 500 jobs in September, Connecticut’s labor market appears strong,” Andy Condon, director of the Office of Research, said in a statement. “Annual growth increased to nearly 20,000 jobs. Only the trade, information and government supersectors show annual job losses.”
The numbers are based on a business payroll survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In a reverse of state employment trends, the private sector lost jobs in September and the government sector added jobs. The private sector lost 1,000 jobs in September, but has added 23,400 jobs for the year. Government added 500 jobs in September, but has lost 3,500 for the year. The government sector includes all federal, state and local employment, including public higher education and Native American casino employment.
In September, construction and financial activities led all supersectors with 1,000 jobs gained each. Manufacturing also grew by 800 jobs. The trade, transportation & utilities supersector lost 2,300 positions, while leisure & hospitality dropped 1,100 jobs.
The state has recovered 89.9 percent of the jobs lost during the recession that started in March 2008. It needs 12,000 jobs to reach expansion. The private sector has gained 113 percent of the jobs lost during the recession.
Donald Klepper-Smith, chief economist and director of research at DataCore Partners, said the September report is “better than it
“The job market continues to strengthen and the unemployment rate continues to track down. That’s good news for people looking for work. Candidates definitely have leverage now. Candidates have options, and employers have the challenge of putting together competitive packages to attract top talent.” Ryan Gatto, regional vice president with the staffing firm Robert Half
appears,” although the state still lags far behind other New England states in job recovery from the recession. Connecticut, he said, is the only New England state that hasn’t recovered 100 percent of the jobs lost.
“It’s hard to make a case for ‘good growth’ when data is viewed in context,” he said in a newsletter to clients. “Connecticut still ranks last in job recovery given the preliminary data for each of the six states.”
The Hartford and Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk
labor market areas each gained jobs in September. The New Haven, Waterbury and Danbury markets lost jobs.
Average hourly earnings in Connecticut were $32.56, up 5 percent from September 2017.
Plenty of seasonal jobs will likely be available this holiday season as the National Retail Federation estimates that employers will hire between 585,000 and 650,000 temporary workers, a 0.5 percent increase over last year.
Ryan Gatto, regional vice president with the staffing firm Robert Half, said it has been a candidates market
since the beginning of 2018 with low unemployment and lots of jobs to fill.
“The job market continues to strengthen and the unemployment rate continues to track down,” he said. “That’s good news for people looking for work. Candidates definitely have leverage now. Candidates have options and employers have the challenge of putting together competitive packages to attract top talent.”