Connecticut’s employment picture ended July muddled, leaving even state Department of Labor authorities and the governor scratching their heads.
The state added 5,100 jobs in July, the agency’s freshly released labor data shows, but the state’s unemployment rate rose sharply to 8.5 percent, from 8.1 percent in June.
The numbers are derived from two separate surveys conducted by the state DOL, and the completely opposite findings are making understanding Connecticut’s economic picture a difficult proposition, officials say.
“The complete disagreement between our two key indicators of labor market health in Connecticut makes an assessment of market conditions difficult at best this month,” said state labor agency Research Director Andy Condon.
“These programs have proven vital to our understanding of economic conditions in Connecticut, but we will have to wait until more data comes in to see if July’s results were a statistical anomaly or an early indicator of a turning point in the economy, as yet uncorroborated by other data.”
The total nonfarm job estimate in July increased by 5,100 or 0.3 percent to 1,633,200. Since July 2011, the state’s labor market has added 7,100 jobs, for 0.4 percent growth. This is the third monthly gain in 2012.
The first seven months of 2012 have now produced 9,700 new jobs, just below last year’s pace of 10,400 jobs.
Six of Connecticut’s 10 major employing industry sectors showed increases in July 2012, while four sectors declined. The private sector added 2,500 jobs in July and has gained 9,800 positions since July 2011.
Expanding sectors were led by government with 2,600 new jobs and education and health services, which added 2,400 new jobs.
In a statement Thursday, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said he was skeptical of the July jobs report numbers, but he acknowledged that Connecticut still has a long way to go before it fully recovers from its economic doldrums.
“The phrase ‘worst economic downturn since the Great Depression’ is used so often, we’ve become immune to the words,” Malloy said. “But they’re true. So, it should come as a surprise to no one that pulling the country and our state out of that downturn is hard. Really hard.”
