Federal, state and local governments are adding jobs by the thousands nationwide, while many companies in the private sector are quickly shedding them.
But the shift from private to public employment is less pronounced in Connecticut, due partly to a mandated government hiring freeze in the state and in Connecticut’s slow-growing and steady economy, according to state labor economist John Tirinzonie.
The public sector — federal, state and local governments — have added more than 50,000 this year, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a Chicago-based outplacement consulting firm with offices in Hartford.
Employment experts at the company expect federal agencies to create another 555,000 jobs over the next several years to cope with the flood of baby boomer retirements.
This expected surge would be the first significant expansion in public sector job opportunities since Sept. 11, 2001, according to John A. Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Traditionally, job seekers have considered government jobs less appealing than private sector jobs, Challenger said. In their job searches, they “often overlook government agencies as a potential employer,” he added.
Shifting Attitude
But that attitude may shift as public sector opportunities surpass private sector openings.
In contrast, Tirinzonie said Connecticut job seekers have been very willing to consider government jobs, which often offer attractive wage and benefit packages.
“In Connecticut, people have always looked at government jobs probably at the beginning of their job search,” Tirinzonie said.
Connecticut has added 4,500 public sector jobs over the past year, Tirinzonie said.
That makes the public sector the second highest growth sector for employment over the past year, behind education and health care, which added about 7,100 jobs in the same time.
Such growth is steady, not remarkable, Tirinzonie said. He noted that the economic slowdown has taken its toll on other industry sectors, including construction.
Job Fair
During the second half of last year, the state’s unemployment rate held steady under 5 percent and tended to run below the national rate, according to the state Department of Labor.
Connecticut’s rate hit 5.0 percent in February and 5.3 percent in March before dipping to 4.7 percent in April. This year, the national rate had ranged between 4.8 percent and 5 before spiking to 5.5 percent in May.
“Overall, we seem to have had a very good couple of years [in Connecticut],” Tirinzonie said in a phone interview from a job fair in Fairfield. “The problem is we can’t sustain that if the national economy continues its downward spiral.”
Tirinzonie said 42 companies signed up for the job fair, and more than 500 job seekers were in attendance. That’s about the same attendance as past years, he said.
