Labor Department: Connecticut Gained 24,600 Jobs In Past Year

Preliminary estimates from the Labor Department show the state added 24,600 jobs over the past year, including 6,400 jobs in January.

That makes January 2015 the seventh consecutive month the state has seen job gains. It also means the state has recovered 90,500 positions, or 76.1 percent, of those lost during the recession.

Connecticut’s jobs recovery is now 59 months old and is averaging approximately 1,534 jobs per month since February 2010, according to the Labor Department. Private-sector employment has recovered at a better pace than the government sector by adding 97,100 jobs, or 87 percent, of the jobs lost in the recession.

In order to reach a full recovery the state will need to add an additional 28,500 jobs, but just 14,500 need to come from the private sector. The government sector hasn’t done as well during the recession. According to the Labor Department, 6,600 government jobs have been lost since recovery began in February 2010.

In January the private sector added 5,500 positions and 23,000 jobs since January 2014. That’s the best growth of private sector jobs since 1998. The government sector, which includes employment at the tribal casinos, fell by 1,600 over the past year. However, the government sector increased jobs in January 2015 by 900.

In January 2015, six of the 10 major industry supersectors increased jobs. In addition to the government, education and health services added 2,800 jobs, leisure and hospitality added 2,100 jobs, professional and business services added 2,100 jobs, financial activities added 1,500 jobs, and construction and mining added 1,300 jobs. The manufacturing supersector lost 900 jobs.

The Hartford and New Haven labor markets both saw job gains in January. The Hartford region posted a job gain of 3,200 and the New Haven market saw a small gain of 400 jobs.

Unemployment held steady at 6.3 percent. That’s unchanged from where it was in December 2014 and has remained constant since September 2014. Based on a survey, the number of unemployment residents has decreased by 12,906 since January 2014.

“Our economy is continuing to head in the right direction, with the private sector steadily adding jobs at a rate that our state hasn’t seen in decades,” Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Monday.  “We’re positioning Connecticut’s economy for long-term growth and the results are moving in the right direction.  But we cannot stop here – we will continue in our efforts to move Connecticut forward to ensure that everyone in our state who wants a job has one.”