State Sheds Jobs in August

09.19.2013
Economy

Connecticut lost 6,000 jobs in August, July’s gains were revised down by 2,000 positions, and the unemployment rate remained a stubborn 8.1%. Is there a silver lining?
Yes, says CBIA economist Pete Gioia, who notes the private sector actually added 2,300 positions last month, many of them in the manufacturing and construction sectors.
“The underlying message was more positive than [the overall numbers] would imply,” he said today. “Unfortunately, we do still see weakness in financial services and that’s a concern going forward.
“But overall, we’ve added 14,300 jobs since the beginning of 2013. That’s a positive sign; I think overall we’re going to continue on a positive rate.”
Late school year
The state saw 7,500 jobs lost in the local government sector in August, which Connecticut Department of Labor officials said they anticipated based on school sessions running well into summer.
The department also revised the numbers it released last month, saying the state gained 9,500 jobs in July, 2,000 less than initially reported.
“The very high June and July education numbers were driven by a seasonal adjustment process that was confused by the late closing school year,” said Andy Condon, the agency’s research director.
“The August numbers corrected that pattern. Connecticut continued to see growth in the private sector, particularly in the goods-producing industry supersectors, including construction/mining and manufacturing.”
Gains and losses
Six of the 10 major industry sectors posted gains in August, led by construction and mining with 1,700 jobs.
Manufacturing added 1,100 jobs, followed by trade, transportation, and utilities (1,600); leisure and hospitality (300); other services (100); and education and health services (100).
The government sector dropped 8,300 jobs, followed by financial activities (-1,700); professional and business services (-700); and information (-200).
Only New Haven (600) and Waterbury (500) posted net gains for the month. Danbury was unchanged from July.
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford  lost 2,500 jobs, followed by Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk (-1,100) and Norwich-New London (-200).
Connecticut has recovered 62,200 jobs, or 51.3% of the 121,200 positions lost in the March 2008-February 2010 recession.

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