A loss of 400 jobs last month in the Norwich-New London area didn't stop Connecticut as a whole from recording labor gains in December, but the region's continued employment see-saw since the end of the Great Recession has dragged down overall job performance statewide.

While Norwich-New London has gained back only 900 jobs lost during the recession — 7 percent of the total loss — the state as a whole has seen 106,700 positions restored. That's a recovery rate of nearly 90 percent.

Had Norwich-New London gained back all of the 12,500 jobs it has lost since 2008, the state also would be fully recovered.

Connecticut as a whole added 300 jobs in December, far below the average monthly recovery of about 1,500 positions over the past six years. The increase, which nevertheless coincided with a slight uptick in unemployment to 5.2 percent, means the state gained 22,600 jobs last year — a slightly faster clip than seen in previous recovery years. 

"Connecticut ended the year with healthy annual job growth across most industry sectors," Andy Condon, the state Department of Labor's director of the Office of Research, said in a statement.

He pointed out, however, that revisions to the numbers released in March could alter evaluations made from preliminary estimates.

Economist Don Klepper-Smith of DataCore Partners in New Haven called the December jobs numbers "lackluster" and "well below expectations." He added in a note to clients that "we're still on track for full job recovery sometime in 2016 barring domestic recession," but that General Electric's impending move out of Connecticut and other business factors could make "further job gains ... increasingly difficult to come by."

The latest numbers show that while Connecticut had a 5.2 percent jobless rate last month, a tenth-of-a-point increase, the Norwich-New London area's unemployment rate was 5.4 percent. The region, which also includes Westerly, had 800 fewer jobs last month than were recorded in December 2014.

Statewide, the New Haven area had by far the best performance in December, gaining 900 jobs, while for the year the Bridgeport-Stamford area led the way with 6,600 job gains.

l.howard@theday.com

Twitter: @KingstonLeeHow