Connecticut Construction Jobs Continue to Decline

Posted on October 21, 2008

Connecticut as a whole lost 2,300 jobs during September, but it is Connecticut construction jobs that have seen the biggest over-the-year loss.

As of September, the construction industry employed 67,700 workers, down from 68,000 workers during August and a decrease of 1.6 percent from last year, according to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The state saw a total non-farm employment of 1,702,400 workers during September, the same as this time last year, but down from 1,704,700 in August. The loss of 2,300 jobs is the second largest since January, when the state lost 2,500 jobs. Although the state has seen monthly job losses, the loss of thousands of jobs is a turn around from the recent trend of the state adding jobs when compared to last year.

Connecticut saw an unemployment rate of 6.1 percent during September, a decrease from 6.5 percent in August.

“Jobs carry more weight than the unemployment statistics, as they speak to income growth and associated spending and reflect a much larger data sample,” Don Klepper-Smith, of DataCore Partners LLC in New Haven, said in an article by the Hartford Courant.

The state’s average weekly initial unemployment claims continued to increase, rising from 4,700 in July to 5,900 in August and 6,200 in September, the highest level in six years.

“The next two to three quarters will constitute tough sledding for many consumers and businesses,” Klepper-Smith added. “The Fairfield County economy, in particular, looks to take a direct hit here, given the newly updated projection of 40,000 to 60,000 jobs to be lost on Wall Street.”

Other industries that saw an over-the-year decrease during September include:

The only industries to see an over-the-year increase in employment were leisure and hospitality by .7 percent and government by 1 percent. The natural resources and mining industry employed 800 workers, the same as last year.