Connecticut’s economic climate remains on uncertain ground, with preliminary June estimates showing an 8.1 percent unemployment rate. The rate increased by three-tenths of a percent since May.
Despite the rise in unemployment, 1,400 new jobs were added: The private sector added 5,000 total, while government shed 3,600.
“June’s mixed results are a mirror of the strengths and weaknesses of the current job market,” said Andy Condon, a chief researcher at the Connecticut Department of Labor. “Overall job growth is slow, though the private sector continues to show a decent recovery. Unfortunately, the jump in our unemployment rate indicates we are not growing jobs fast enough to satisfy the need in our economy.”
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy offered his perspective on the numbers.
“Let’s put this month’s job figure into context. It was announced last month that 102,000 private sector jobs were created nationally. That means with 5,000 private sector jobs created here in Connecticut, our state is responsible for 5% of the country’s job growth in the last month even though we only account for about 1% of the country’s population.
He added, “We clearly have a long way to go, but let me be clear – job creation continues to be my top priority.
Individual information for every town and city has not been released yet.
This story was updated to include Gov. Malloy's statement.
