CT April unemployment at 7.9 percent

Connecticut lost another 11,800 jobs in April, pushing the state unemployment rate to 7.9 percent, state labor officials said today.

State unemployment was 7.5 percent in March. The U.S. jobless rate is 8.9 percent.

Connecticut's nonfarm employment in April was 1,640,400, down from the revised March figure of 1,652,200, the Connecticut Department of Labor said. On a seasonally adjusted basis, this is a decrease of 65,600 from the April 2008 total of 1,706,000 jobs.

"Layoffs and business closings that occurred at the end of the first quarter this year were likely the cause for the spike in job losses we experienced in April," said state labor economist John Tirinzonie.