BUSINESS CONNECTIONS ECONOMY
EVENTS
Connecticut Jobs Improve, So Do Competitors
C
onnecticut is having a strong summer for jobs, with the state gaining 4,100 jobs in July, including 3,000 in the private sector. Our unemployment rate, says the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, is now 5.4%, just above the national rate of 5.3%. CBIA economist Pete Gioia said the latest report contains “a lot of good news” for Connecticut, especially with the state’s private sector now having recovered 97% (108,000 of 111,600) jobs lost during the recession.
The Connecticut Department of Labor says that, in dropping three-tenths of a point, the state’s unemployment rate is the lowest it has been since May 2008 and a full percentage point less than in July 2014. Six of the state’s 10 major industry sectors added jobs, led by the business and professional services sector, with 2,700. Others gaining included: f Education and health services (1,600 jobs)
J
ames Baxter, Senior Vice President Development, U.S., at Boehringer Ingelheim, delivers the keynote address at our annual fall economic event.
f Financial activities (1,100)
But we’re not alone.
f Government (1,000)
“Connecticut is certainly recovering, and we seem to be accelerating somewhat,” said Gioia, “but we’re not alone in that other states still seem to be outperforming us.”
f Manufacturing (600)
Hear about the challenges and opportunities for Connecticut’s biopharma industry and get fresh insights from leading economists and workforce development specialists on:
f Other services (100)
f What’s driving (and deflecting) business investment in Connecticut
For example, Massachusetts gained 7,200 jobs in July and the state’s unemployment rate is 4.7%. Our 5.4% rate is tied with New York (which added 19,300 private-sector jobs), Florida (added 13,700 private-sector jobs), and Pennsylvania (added 8,000 private-sector jobs). Overall, Connecticut’s unemployment rate continues to be higher than every New England state except Rhode Island (5.8%). New Hampshire improved to 3.7% in July, and Maine also dipped, to 4.6%. Vermont, meanwhile, held its third-best-in-the-U.S. unemployment rate at 3.6%. Connecticut has added 30,600 jobs year-over-year, and the state is now at 85.7% in jobs recovered since the great recession.
f When the Fed will raise interest rates f The financial crises in Greece and China and the increasing value of the dollar f Connecticut’s housing outlook f Projected growth of the state’s aerospace and defense industries f New efforts to expand and strengthen the state’s urban workforce We’ll also release results of the 2015 Survey of Connecticut Businesses. Sponsored by BlumShapiro and UIL Holdings.
Sectors in which jobs declined included construction and mining, information, leisure and hospitality, and trade, transportation and utilities. Job gains also were uneven across the state, with greater Hartford and lower Fairfield counties performing the best in July, gaining 3,500 and 2,600 jobs, respectively. However, New Haven, and the Norwich-New London areas lost jobs, while greater Danbury was unchanged.
Date: Friday, Sept. 11, 2015 Time: Check-in & networking breakfast buffet: 7 am Program: 8:15–11:45 am
SCAN TO REGISTER! Place: Marriott Hartford Downtown 200 Columbus Blvd., Hartford
Cost: CBIA & HABE members, $95 Nonmembers, $115 Table of 10, $850
f Read more at cbia.com f Register at cbia.com
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