Connecticut private-sector workers received a pay raise in April.
Connecticut private-sector workers received a pay raise in April.
The average weekly private-sector earnings in Connecticut jumped 5.3 percent last month to $1,073.01. The average number of weekly hours private-sector workers toiled also increased slightly to 33.7 hours compared to 33.4 hours in the year-ago period, according to the state Department of Labor.
The higher wages came despite Connecticut shedding 1,500 jobs last month, boosting the unemployment rate to 4.9 percent.
One industry, however, continues to experience downward pressure on wages. Connecticut manufacturing workers saw their average weekly earnings fall 14.7 percent in April to $986.10 from $1,156.44 a year earlier. The manufacturing industry — one of the most important to Connecticut's economy — has been experiencing lower wages for some time, which economists attribute to shifting workforce demographics.
With one of the oldest workforces in the state, manufacturing is seeing higher-paid workers retire and being replaced by newer, lower-paid workers.
– Greg Bordonaro
