Connecticut shed 14,300 jobs in February, pushing the unemployment rate to 7.4 percent, the state Labor Department said today.
A year ago, Connecticut unemployment was 5.2 percent.
U.S. unemployment hit 8.4 percent in February.
In Connecticut, construction, manufacturing and financial services continued losing jobs during the most recent month, the state said.
The state’s nonfarm employment in February was 1.66 million, down from a revised 1.67 million in January, when unemployment stood at 7.3 percent. In February 2008, Connecticut had 1.7 million jobs.
“The unrelenting deterioration of the national economy continues to accelerate employment declines here in Connecticut,” said State Labor Economist John Tirinzonie. “Over the past six months, nearly 45,000 workers in our state have lost their jobs. Despite this, our unemployment has been rising at a slower rate than that of the nation during this recession.”
Across the state, Waterbury unemployment remained the highest in February, at 10.7 percent. Danbury was the lowest at 6.8 percent, followed by Bridgeport-Stamford at 7.4 percent, New Haven at 7.8 percent, and Hartford at 8 percent.
