70°
“We’ve undoubtedly seen a strong summer and a strong year – this is the best August we’ve seen in a decade. There is no doubt the needle is moving in the right direction," Gov. Dannel Malloy said. "Unemployment is hovering around the national average, with thousands of jobs being created each month. It’s good news and it demonstrates that our efforts over the past several years are truly paying dividends."
The monthly report of the Department of Labor indicates that:
- Connecticut saw a net increase of 3,200 new jobs during the month, the best year-over-year August job growth in the last 10 years.
- The unemployment rate in the state dropped a tenth of a percent to 5.3 percent, compared to the national rate of 5.1 percent. At this time last year, it was over a full point higher at 6.4 percent in Connecticut.
- The state's unemployment rate has not been this low since April 2008 – a seven-year low – when unemployment was increasing at the beginning of the Great Recession. During the recession, it peaked at 9.2 percent in 2010.
- Over the year, the state has grown 33,200 nonfarm jobs. Since August 2014, employment in Connecticut’s private sector has increased by 31,100 new jobs.
- The state has now recovered 98.4 percent of the private sector jobs lost in the Great Recession. The private sector needs just an additional 1,800 positions to reach full recovery.
“Connecticut’s estimated nonfarm employment growth pace and unemployment rates have come closer in line with national averages this summer,” said Andy Condon, director of the Office of Research at the state Department of Labor. “In August, earlier school openings and the later Labor Day holiday seemed to influence industry employment, earnings, and hours worked.”
Click here to follow Daily Voice Fairfield and receive free news updates.
