State gains 4,000 jobs in March, but region lags
The latest labor numbers released Monday saw a round of high fives in the rest of the state, but for southeastern Connecticut the loss of 800 jobs seemed like March madness without a victory in sight.
The state recorded job gains of 4,000 last month, but the Norwich-New London area reached another post-recession labor low for the second month in a row, according to the monthly state Department of Labor report.
When looked at on a year-over-year basis, the news was even worse: The region had 1,100 fewer jobs last month than it had in March 2014, the Labor Department said.
"The recovery has been tepid thus far," Don Klepper-Smith, an economist with the New Haven firm DataCore Partners, said in a phone interview. "The southeastern corner of the state has lagged."
Still, the Labor Department report trumpeted statewide results, noting that first-quarter numbers indicate a gain of 8,600 jobs in Connecticut over the first three months of the year. That's 2,000 more jobs than were gained in the first quarter of last year.
“Jobs numbers are improving, our economy is growing, and our strategy is working as we make more progress," Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said in a statement.
"The recovery seems to be coming from a broader base of the state's industries," Andy Condon, director of the Labor Department's research department, said in a statement. "We continue to see increased labor force participation as the economy improves."
Last month's unemployment numbers held steady compared with February at 6.4 percent. But it was a half-percent improvement from the jobless rate a year earlier.
Job losses in February were revised downward by 800 to show a loss of 2,900 positions during the month, affected largely by the snowy weather. In March, by contrast, eight of 10 major job sectors showed improvement.
"The numbers we got today were in line with my expectations, but we have a ways to go before we see full job recovery," Klepper-Smith said in an emailed note to clients.
Klepper-Smith pointed out that the state is only a little more than three-quarters of the way toward recovering all the jobs lost during the Great Recession. According to the Labor Department, jobs in Connecticut have been returning at a rate of about 1,600 a month since recovery began in February 2010.
"On the plus side, the fundamentals now have us poised for what I believe will be solid Connecticut job gains of between 15,000-18,000 this year," Klepper-Smith said.
But Klepper-Smith noted that growth is never linear. Within every upward trend, there are times when downward spirals occur, he said, and the past two months appear to be one of those times in southeastern Connecticut.
Despite job gains at Electric Boat and a housing market that appears to be picking up steam, he said, overall economic conditions in the region are keeping employers from investing in new employees. Lagging profits at the region's two casinos as well as short-term weakness in the manufacturing sector because of a stronger dollar could be two of the reasons for Norwich-New London's job down trend, he added.
The region also is fighting the challenges imposed by a state in the bottom fifth of the nation in terms of the overall business climate, Klepper-Smith said.
Still, he said, economic fundamentals in the region are strong, and Klepper-Smith remains confident the area will pull out of its jobs tailspin soon.
"It looks like it will be inch by inch as opposed to yard by yard," he said.
l.howard@theday.com
Twitter: @KingstonLeeHow
SECTOR GAINS OR LOSSES
Trade, transportation and utilities +1,500
Leisure and hospitality +1,000
Business services +900
Other services +500
Information +400
Manufacturing +400
Government +300
Education and health services +200
Financial activities -400
Construction and mining -800
SOURCE: Connecticut Department of Labor
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