Unemployment Rate In Madison, Guilford Up; But Labor Force Growing As Well

Editor's Note: Looking for a job? See a list of resources at the bottom of the story. Also, if you know of any good resources, let us know in the comment section after the story.

The unemployment rate in both Madison and Guilford ticked up from April to May, to 5.7 percent from 4.7 percent in Madison and to 5.5 percent from 5.3 percent in Guilford.

But Connecticut Department of Labor figures also show the labor force grew in both towns over the same period.

That trend appears to be continuing in June statewide. The state Department of Labor reported Thursday that June's numbers are showing both the "strengths and weaknesses" of the state's economy:

Preliminary June employment estimates for Connecticut show mixed signs entering the summer months. According to the household survey, the unemployment rate for the state rose by three-tenths of a percentage point in June to 8.1%, while the establishment survey estimated that the state added 1,400 jobs (0.1%). Essential private sector job growth in June, however, came in at a strong 5,000 (0.4%) pace led by a gain in the education and health services supersector (3,800, 1.2%). Private sector statewide job growth continued to be offset by large government declines (-3,600, -1.5%) last month, especially from local public administration (-2,900, -1.9%). This sector also includes the state’s casinos.

Strengths and weaknesses

“June’s mixed results are a mirror of the strengths and weaknesses of the current job market,” said Andy Condon, Director of the agency’s Office of Research, in a prepared release that is included as a PDF with this story. “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.”

Local numbers were available through May 2012 and they show that the labor force in Madison grew to 9,868 in May from 9,730 in April and 9,701 in January, when the unemployment rate was 5.8 percent, compared to 5.7 percent in May 2012.

In Guilford, the labor force grew to 13,048 in May from 12,965 in April and 12,839 in January, when the unemployment rate was 5.6 percent, compared to 5.5 percent in May 2012.

In Clinton, the labor force stayed essentially steady, at 7,754 in January, 7,795 in April, and 7,794 in May. The unemployment rate in Clinton was 7.4 percent in January, 6.6 percent in April, and 6.2 percent in May.

Please see the attached PDF for detailed labor force and unemployment rates for the towns of Clinton, Durham, Guilford, Killingworth, Madison, and New Haven. In New Haven, the unemployment rate was 11.6 percent in May 2012.

More people entering workforce

The Hartford Business Journal reported Thursday that the uptick in the unemployment rate statewide in June was due to people entering the workforce:

The unemployment rate, however, edged higher from 7.8 percent to 8.1 percent, largely because more people are entering the workforce.

An expanding labor force, officials say, may signal jobseekers are reentering the labor market, sensing better employment prospects.

Five supersectors showing improvement

The state Department of Labor also reported that five of the state's ten employing "supersectors" showed job increase in June, while five showed declines:

In June 2012, growing supersectors were again led by education and health services (3,800, 1.2%).  This movement was considered statistically significant.  Both segments of this supersector experienced strong job growth with health care and social assistance (2,900, 1.1%) providing the most strength. The educational services (900, 1.4%) also grew.  The leisure and hospitality supersector added 2,000 positions (1.5%) over the month.  The accommodation and food services component increased by 1,100 positions (1.0%) and the arts, entertainment, and recreation component added another 900 (3.8%).  The construction and closely related mining supersector increased by 500 (1.0%).  Individually, the very small mining portion added 100 jobs (20.0%) while the construction sector increased 400 (0.8%).  Specialty trade contractors were especially active for the construction industry in June.  The manufacturingsupersector added 400 jobs (0.2%) in June as the nondurable goods (700, 1.8%) segment produced a statistically significant increase that more than overcame a durable goods (-300, -0.2%) decline.  The professional and business services (100, 0.1%) supersector posted a small gain. 

Supersectors that declined included government, "other services," financial activities, information, and trade-transportation-utilities.

Some positive trends, still room for improvement

Governor Dannel P. Malloy said in a prepared statement that the June statewide numbers showed some positive trends, but added that there is still plenty of room for improvement.

“The addition of 5,000 private sector jobs this month brings the total number of jobs created since January of last year to more than 22,000.  Our unemployment rate is down 13% over the same time period.  And all of this happened while we’ve been working hard to streamline state government, which now has nearly 3,000 fewer employees. 

Malloy added that the June numbers should be put in 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. We clearly have a long way to go, but let me be clear – job creation continues to be my top priority.

“Part of the reason for the increase announced today is that more people are looking for work, which in and of itself is a good thing.  It means people are increasingly confident that there are good jobs available.  And there is reason to be confident.  With companies like Jackson Laboratories, Alexion and Sustainable Building Systems planning to relocate or expand their operations, we have positioned our state for future job growth.”

Looking for a job? Here are some resources:

Connecticut's Job Bank has the following information about recruitments coming up:

• Monday, July 23, 2012 - FedEx - Bridgeport CTWorks: 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
• Tuesday, July 24, 2012 - Dattco - Meriden CT Works: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
• Wednesday, July 25, 2012 - Advanced Auto Parts - New London CT Works: 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
• Tuesday, July 24, 2012 - Global Industrial Services - Hamden CTWorks: 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
• Wednesday, July 25, 2012 - United Personnel - Enfield CTWorks: 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

For more information, visit the Connecticut Job Bank web page.

To find Connecticut employers by region, industry, occupation and company, you can visit the state of Connecticut "Search For Employers" page.

Here are some additional resources provided by the state: