Connecticut continued its short run of job gains in March, adding 3,000 jobs, the state labor department says. Still, unemployment rose slightly to 9.2 percent.
The state’s nonfarm employment in March was 1,614,500, up from the revised February count of 1,611,500, the Connecticut Department of Labor said Thursday.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, this is a decrease of 30,600 from the March 2009 total of 1,645,100 jobs.
“We have now seen three months of job gains in Connecticut, possibly one of the best indications we have seen to date that our economy is beginning to take a more positive turn,” said Labor Statistics Supervisor Salvatore DiPillo.
“We saw healthy gains in six of our major industry sectors, including manufacturing and construction – two areas that have suffered heavy losses as a result of the economic downturn,” DiPillo said.
Connecticut unemployment was 9.1 percent in February and 7.7 percent in March last year.
U.S. unemployment is 9.7 percent.
Meanwhile, Massachusetts’ unemployment rate, driven by gains in retail and financial service jobs, fell in March to 9.3 percent, 0.2 percentage points lower than the prior month, The Associated Press reports.
The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported Thursday that the state added 7,600 jobs in March and 5,700 more people entered the labor force.
The trade, transportation and utilities sector, which includes retail, added 4,300 jobs. Financial services, which includes insurance and real estate, added 1,800 jobs, the first gain since October 2008. The technology, scientific and research sector also added jobs.
Jobs in education and health services, as well as construction, were down.
