CT adds 3,500 jobs; unemployment down slightly

HBJ File Photo Connecticut added 5,400 jobs last month, according to the state Department of Labor.

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By Joe Cooper

The state added a net of 3,500 jobs in April for a small year-over-year improvement in the unemployment rate.

According to figures released Thursday by the state Department of Labor, Connecticut’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 5.7 percent in April, down from 5.8 percent in April 2015.

Connecticut has recovered 20,100 jobs since last April, and 95,600 of the 119,100 jobs it lost in during the March 2008 to February 2010 economic recession.

The state needs to reach 1.71 million seasonally-adjusted jobs to enter a true employment expansion. That would require 23,500 more nonfarm jobs. Connecticut has averaged 1,292 jobs per month since Feb. 2010, according to DOL.

The state had 1.68 million nonfarm jobs in April, a seasonally adjusted, a gain of 20,100 since April 2015. DOL’s initial announcement of a 300-job gain for March 2016 was revised upward to 1,000.

“Connecticut saw increases in both job counts and labor force participation in April,” said Andy Condon, director of DOL’s Office of Research. “As new workers entered or reentered the labor force, the number of unemployed also grew. This explains recent upward pressure on our unemployment rate.”

Employment in Connecticut’s private sector, at 1.45 million, grew in April 2016 by 3,400 (0.23 percent). Over the year, the sector has added 20,800 jobs (1.45 percent, about 1,733 jobs per month).

Nine of the ten major industry supersectors increased employment in April, while just one declined on a seasonally-adjusted basis. The largest job-gaining supersector in April was construction and mining, which added 2,400 positions, or 4.2 percent.

Leisure and hospitality lost 3,000 jobs, or 1.9 percent. It was the only industry supersector to lose jobs in April. The drop follows seven consecutive months of job gains.

The government supersector (100 jobs, 0.04 percent, 237,900 jobs) showed a small increase last month but is the only declining supersector over the year (-700 jobs, -0.3 percent).

The government supersector has lost an another 9,800 positions since the employment recovery began in Feb. 2010 in addition to the 7,400 jobs the sector lost in the recession itself (Native American employment on reservations, including casinos, are tallied in local government in Connecticut).

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