New London Jobs Picture Worse Than State Average

Despite the addition of 7,400 new jobs in April and May of this year Connecticut’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 8 percent, according to data released this week by the Department of Labor.

Though the rate has remained unchanged for the past four months, labor officials said the jobs picture in Connecticut is looking up.

“With the exception of a storm [that] impacted February, Connecticut has been experiencing consistent job growth so far this year,” said Andy Condon, Director of the Office of Research for the state’s labor department. “The upward turn in labor force participation, after 35 straight months of decline, may indicate increased confidence in labor market conditions. However, there are still headwinds ahead. Federal budget sequester cuts could hinder employment growth possibilities throughout the rest of 2013.”

In New London, the unemployment rate of the city's labor force of approximately 13,800 is well above the state average and has fluctuated for the past five months. At the beginning of the year the city's unemployment rate was 11.7 percent and dropped to 10.7 percent the next month. It rose to 11.2 percent in March, dropped to 10.9 percent in April, and rose again to 11.4 percent in May, according to data released recently by the labor department.

Since the Great Recession ended, Connecticut has recovered 58,600 jobs, or 48.3 percent of the 121,200 seasonally adjusted jobs that were lost between March of 2008 to February of 2010, labor officials reported in a release issued this week.