New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
State sees small jobs loss in February
Connecticut’s still-sluggish economy lost 400 jobs in February, while unemployment remained unchanged at 3.8 percent, the state Department of Labor reported Thursday.
The new numbers underscore the prolonged and fitful recovery since the state’s 2008-10 recession. Also Thursday, the Labor Department revised an originally reported gain of 1,000 jobs for January down to a loss of 2,500. Department officials attributed the sharp drop to normal updates and a correction of estimates of construction jobs.
“Overall, the numbers are not positive; they’re actually a little scary,” said Pete Gioia, economic adviser to the Connecticut Business & Industry Association. “We’re deep in the woods and lost at the moment.”
The state has added a modest 4,600 positions in the past year, although that increase has helped to bring Connecticut’s unemployment down to the same level as the U.S. rate.
Overall, Connecticut has regained 81 percent of the approximately 119,000 jobs it shed in its last recession. The private sector has recouped nearly 100 percent of its lost positions.
The state’s recovery has taken much longer than the rebounds in several neighboring states. By early 2013, Massachusetts had rebounded to its pre-recession employment levels.
Don Klepper-Smith, an economist who advises Liberty Bank, predicted in a report Thursday that the state, at its current rate, would not fully recover until early 2021.
“Given the likelihood of recession between now and then, Connecticut is not likely to reach its prior job peak anytime soon,” Klepper-Smith said in the report.
In the past month, the private sector lost 500 positions, while the public sector added 100.
Employment fell in four of the 10 major industries tracked by the Labor Department, while five saw increases.
The trade, transportation and utilities sector sustained the biggest loss, dropping 1,000 jobs. Education and health services’ employment declined by 600, leisure and hospitality decreased by 400 and construction and mining fell by 200.
Professional and business services led the growth, increasing by 800 spots. Manufacturing added 600. Information increased by 200. The government and “other services” sectors each added 100.
Employment was flat in financial activities.
Among the state’s six regional labor markets, New Haven led with a gain of 500 positions. The BridgeportStamford-Norwalk area picked up 300.
Danbury dropped 200 posts, while the Hartford area’s job rolls plunged by 2,300.
Last month, average hourly earnings that were not seasonally adjusted totaled $32.68, up $1.10 cents from a year ago. The resulting average private-sector weekly paycheck came to approximately $1,082, up about $17 from a year ago.