State Adds Jobs in November, Ending Two-Month Skid

12.17.2015
Economy

Led by the leisure and hospitality sector, Connecticut employers added 5,100 jobs in November, reversing two months of employment losses.
CBIA economist Pete Gioia called the November jobs report a sign of economic recovery, with gains across a broad range of industry sectors.

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Connecticut has recovered 89% of the 119,000 jobs lost during the recession.

“Overall, we do see a welcomed recovery in this report following what was two very disappointing reports in October and September,” Gioia said.
The state’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.1%, the lowest since March 2008.
The state lost 2,200 jobs in October and 4,800 in September, following a summer of solid gains.
Year-over-year, Connecticut has added 26,800 jobs (1.6%).
The November gains covered a wide range of industries as seven of the 10 main industry sectors added jobs, led by leisure and hospitality with 1,500 new positions.
Trade, transportation, and utilities added 1,100 jobs, followed by professional and business services (1,000); manufacturing, with 800 new positions, after losing the same amount last month; education and health services (500); construction and mining (400); and other services (300).
The financial activities sector was unchanged for the month, while information lost 400 jobs and government, 100.
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford led all areas, with 3,500 new jobs, followed by Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk (2,300); New Haven (1,300); and Norwich-New London-Westerly (300).
Connecticut now has recovered 88.8% of the 119,000 jobs lost during the Great Recession.
The private sector has recovered 101.6% or 113,400 of jobs lost during the March 2008-February 2010 economic downturn.
In comparison, Massachusetts added 5,900 jobs in November and has an unemployment rate of 4.7%, while the United States added 211,000 jobs last month, with unemployment at 5%.
Fed rates decision
In national economic news, Gioia noted that yesterday’s decision by the Federal Open Market Committee to increase its target funds rate by a quarter-point was widely expected.
“It’s a fairly benign impact from what we’ve seen,” said Gioia.
It will, however, increase the value of the dollar versus foreign currencies, with challenges for exporters, and firms and countries with dollar denominated debt.
Gioia also added that the consensus amongst economists is that, by this time next year, the rate increase becomes a full one percentage point. He anticipates three rate increases in 2016.
What this means for Connecticut employers remains unseen, he said.

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