State's Unemployment Rate, Business Closings Keep Rising
Connecticut's unemployment rate went up in September and the state's reached a record of closings.
Stocks are doing better, manufacturers are seeing more orders and more houses are selling, but Connecticut is still losing jobs and businesses.
More than 2,600 businesses closed between July 1 and Sept. 30, and a total of 9,545 have closed since the start of the year. That's the most ever to close during the first nine months of a year, according to the state which has been recording figures since 2000.
The state Labor Department says we lost 6,600 jobs in September and the unemployment rate went up from 8.1 percent to 8.4 percent.
Among the areas hardest hit include trade, transportation, utilities, education and health, according to the Labor Department.
"This is a swift kick in the pants," economist Donald L. Klepper-Smith of DataCore Partners Inc. in New Haven, chairman of the governor's economic advisory council told the the Hartford Courant. He was among the forecasters expecting fewer job losses.
If you're looking for a silver lining, the three-month unemployment average above 8 percent means Connecticut is expected to qualify for seven weeks of extended benefits for unemployed workers.
The number of failed businesses is going down and 20,494 new businesses started, although that's fewer than in 2008.
State Susan Bysiewicz said the state could end the year with a record number of business closings and this is a challenging time.
“ What these figures and our unemployment numbers tells me is that we must embark on an aggressive agenda to attract new businesses to Connecticut, make our business climate as hospitable as possible and train our workforce for the new economy. There is no time to waste,” Bysiewicz said.
Posted Wednesday, Oct 21, 2009 - 11:39 AM EST
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