Unemployment Rate at 7-Year Low in June With 2600 New Jobs

The Danbury labor market area continued to post the lowest unemployment rate in the state, coming in at 4.3 percent – a drop of eight tenths of a point from the 5.1 percent reported in June 2014.

Over the year, the state has added 27,000 jobs – one of the best years for growth in a generation.

In addition the reports states the average private sector work week is 33. But that could be illusory, labor department officials said, because of a problem in seasonal adjustment related to the closing of public schools.

“This is yet another milestone reached – unemployment is down to its lowest point in seven years”.

Pete Gioia, an economist with the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, said in a statement released this week that while Connecticut’s unemployment rate remains higher than other New England states, the private sector appears to be leading the recovery. “This news comes just a month after we created almost 6,000 jobs, a huge one-month total”.

The jobless rate was up in many area counties, although it dropped from 3.7 to 3.5 percent in Ellsworth County.

The governor added that these numbers are “another marker that residents’ lives are improving, and another indicator that our economy continues to head in the right direction as a result of our efforts to create jobs”.

Four of the state’s 10 major industry supersectors experienced job gains last month, while five declined, and the information supersector remained unchanged. The sectors that grew the most were construction, with 2,200 jobs and professional services, such as IT and engineering, with 1,500 positions.

Total nonfarm jobs were down 2,700 in June to 5,847,400. The New Haven market added 100 jobs. Leisure & hospitality (-4,200) had the largest decline in June.