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Connecticut Loses Jobs, But Unemployment Rate Drops To 7.4%

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. -- Connecticut's unemployment rate fell to 7.4 percent in December, but the state also lost nearly 4,000 jobs in that same time period, the Connecticut Department of Labor announced. 

Connecticut's unemployment rate fell to 7.4 percent in December, the Connecticut Department of Labor announced.

Connecticut's unemployment rate fell to 7.4 percent in December, the Connecticut Department of Labor announced.

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Connecticut’s nonfarm employment declined by 3,900 jobs in December, down to 1,651,200 jobs, according to the survey. The loss reversed the 3,800 nonfarm job gain the state experienced in November.

Despite the drop in the number of jobs, the unemployment rate continued to decline from 7.6 percent a month earlier in November 2013 and from 8.2 percent a year earlier in December 2012. The drop marked the fourth straight monthly decline in the unemployment rate in Connecticut. 

The national unemployment rate is 6.7 percent.

“Connecticut’s payroll job counts appear to have been affected by bad winter weather around the time of the survey reference week,” said Andy Condon, director of the Office of Research in a release. “On a brighter note, the state’s unemployment rate continues to fall, and for better reasons than has sometimes been the case in the recent past. Declines in the number of unemployed residents largely were the result of employment rather than individuals leaving the labor force.”

The private sector dropped 3,800 jobs and fell 0.3 percent. With the fall, Connecticut has added 11,500 total nonfarm jobs since December 2012. The Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk Labor Market Area lost 1,700 nonfarm jobs and also fell 0.4 percent in unemployment. The Danbury LMA was unchanged.

Connecticut has now recovered 59,400 positions, or 49 percent of the 121,200 seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs that were lost in the state in the March 2008 to February 2010 employment recession. The state's jobs recovery is now 46 months old and is averaging 1,291 jobs per month since February 2010. 

The annual average unemployment rates have dropped for four consecutive years since the job market recovery began. 

  • 2013 - 7.9 percent
  • 2012 - 8.4 percent 
  • 2011 - 8.9 percent 
  • 2010 - 9.3 percent

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