CT jobless rate inches to 9 percent

Connecticut added 2,300 jobs in January from the last month of 2009, but not enough to keep the state unemployment rate from rising slightly to 9 percent, labor authorities said Tuesday.

The state's December jobless rate was 8.8 percent. In January 2009, unemployment was 7.1 percent.

Nationwide, unemployment was at 9.7 percent in January.

The state's nonfarm employment in January was 1,610,400, an increase of 2,300 jobs from the revised December 2009 figure of 1,608,100, the Connecticut Department of Labor said.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, that is down from 52,500 from the January 2009 total of 1,662,900 jobs, the labor agency said.