Connecticut lost jobs in April, according to the latest report from the state Department of Labor. And the state’s unemployment rate ticked upward 0.1 percent to 4.9 percent. The state shed 1,500 jobs in the month.
The report also revised a previously reported gain for March, from 1,300 down to 600.
As the state struggles to boost its flagging economic performance, Pete Gioia of the Connecticut Business and Industry Association said this report should be setting off alarm bells at the capitol.
"We’ve recovered less than 75 percent of the jobs that we lost during the great recession," Gioia said. "It’s imperative that the budget that the policy makers are working on must rebuild confidence to create solid business investment that creates jobs in this state. The two are intertwined."
The state has gained jobs year-over-years, adding 5,500 jobs in that time. But Connecticut’s growth over the last 12 months is the slowest of any New England state, and also lags the national average.
Economist Don Klepper Smith said in a note to clients that if the state remains at its present rate of growth, it won't achieve full job recovery until 2019.
"We've lost jobs in four of the last seven months, and the April job numbers were basically a disappointment, given the national gain of 211,000 jobs," said Klepper Smith. "The combination of persistent budget problems at the state and local level, waning business confidence, and greater levels of overall economic uncertainty, does not bode well for Connecticut's job market over the near term."
