Connecticut Unemployment Ticks Up to 9 Percent

Connecticut's unemployment rate ticked up slightly in October, returning to 9 percent after falling below that threshold in the summer.

A state labor economist said that for the first time, jobs in Connecticut have declined from one year to the next. Joblessness rose from 8.9 percent in September.

The state Labor Department said on Monday that a survey of business establishment payroll jobs estimates that Connecticut added 1,200 jobs to a workforce of 1.6 million. However, a household survey showed the small increase in the unemployment rate.

State economist Andy Condon said the surveys have been volatile recently, with job growth rates slowing over the last six months.

However, he thinks statistical revisions in March will show that 8,000 to 9,000 more jobs have been created in Connecticut than what are now reported.
   
“Though not as severe this month as in previous months, the household and business surveys are once again pointing in opposite directions. On the one hand, we created 1,200 jobs this month.  But on the other, our overall unemployment rate increased slightly. If these conflicting results tell any single story, it’s that more people are attempting to enter the workforce because conditions are beginning to improve,” Gov. Dannel Malloy said in a statement. “The bottom line is this – a slight change in either direction should only serve as a reminder of the important work we have left to do to turn our economy around.  We are battling strong headwinds, both at the national level and in Europe.  The more we learn about the Great Recession, the more we realize how long it’s going to take to get us out of it.”