After three months of gains, state job numbers fall
State sheds 1,200 positions in July
Connecticut’s job-growth momentum hit a bump as the state lost 1,200 jobs in July, according to estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The decline follows gains of 6,000 jobs in May and 5,300 in June. The June number was originally estimated at 6,100, but was revised down by 800 jobs.
“In my opinion the job loss in July was not unexpected given the unsustainable gains we saw in May and June, which were very much outside the norm,” Donald Klepper Smith, chief economist and director of research at Data Core Partners, wrote in a newsletter. “Since the recovery began, we’ve been averaging about 1,000 new jobs per month and the last two months saw average gains five times that amount.”
For the year to date, employment in Connecticut has grown 16,600 jobs, a rate of 1 percent. The state’s unemployment rate is 4.4 percent, unchanged from last
month and down from 4.6 one year ago. The national unemployment rate is 3.9 percent.
“July’s decline of 1,200 jobs does not materially affect the growth we have seen to date this year,” Andy Condon, director of the Office of Research, said in a release. “Our three-month average job growth remains strongly positive. On a
percentage basis, construction and manufacturing remain the fastest growing sectors in the state’s labor market.”
For July, the leisure & hospitality supersector added 1,600 jobs, while education & health, construction and information also saw small job gains. The trade, transportation & utilities supersector lost 1,300 positions, and professional & business services shed 900 positions.
The state has recovered 86.1
percent of the jobs lost during the recession that started in 2008. It needs to add another 16,500 net jobs to reach full recovery. The private sector, however, has recovered by 109 percent. Despite the latest surge in job growth, Klepper-Smith said economic growth in Connecticut remains slow.
“Political spinsters will inevitably characterize the state’s labor market in a positive context, but even a modest ‘dig-down’ into the jobs data reveals that the state’s
engine of economic growth is hitting on only one or two cylinders,” he wrote, adding that the latest real gross domestic product data shows that the state ranked 49th in economic growth in 2017. “Maybe the correct adjective would be ‘sputtering’ and in clear need of a good engine cleaner, if not a major overhaul.”
The New Haven labor market gained 800 jobs in July. It was the only one of six labor market areas to see an increase in jobs. Hartford
lost 1,300 positions, while Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk lost 300 jobs. Danbury lost 100 positions.
Average hourly earnings were $31.87 in Connecticut in July, a year-over-year increase of 79 cents.
Job estimates are based on a business payroll survey administered by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.