Unemployment in the 54 communities that make up the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metropolitan area fell to 7.5 percent in October, down from 8.1 percent a year ago, according to federal labor officials.
That decline mirrored an identical October drop across Connecticut that was announced Nov. 21.
There were 44,000 people unemployed in the Hartford metro area during the month, down from 47,900 in Oct. 2012. But the area’s labor force also shrunk from 92,600 to 91,200.
Unemployment rates in the five other metro areas in Connecticut were also down year over year. The state’s unemployment remains higher than the national average of 7 percent.
