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June 18, 2020

CT economy begins to emerge from historic COVID slump; adds 25,800 jobs in May

Photo | Department of Labor The state Department of Labor's headquarters in Wethersfield.
By Joe Cooper

Connecticut is beginning to recover from the historic job losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as labor officials on Thursday reported the state recovered 25,800 net jobs in May.

The total 1.8% bump in employment reported by the state Department of Labor (DOL) comes a month after the agency said the state lost a staggering 266,300 jobs in April, which was the first full month of coronavirus-related shutdowns. Those losses accounted for more than double the jobs Connecticut lost during the 2008-2010 Great Recession.

DOL also reiterated Thursday that May unemployment numbers remain unreliable because there were errors in the federal government’s household survey that’s used to calculate unemployment rates.

“Leisure and hospitality, retail trade, and education and health services remain the hardest hit industries," said Andy Condon, who leads DOL’s Office of Research. "The process of recovery may quicken as Connecticut implements its phased response to the slowing spread of the virus.”

[Read more: Shaky jobs data muddies COVID-19, Great Recession comparisons]

In May, DOL said the private sector recovered 30,500 jobs (2.6%) for total employment of 1,226,200. However, private company employment is still down 223,300 seasonally-adjusted jobs vs. May 2019. The government supersector, meanwhile, shed 4,700 positions in May to a total of 207,800 and is down by 28,100 jobs year-over-year.

Seven of the 10 major industry supersectors added jobs last month, and three sectors saw declines.

Improving supersectors included:

  • Leisure and hospitality: 9,400 jobs gained, 13.4% increase;
  • Trade, transportation and utilities: 5,100 jobs gained, 2.1% increase;
  • Other services: 4,700 jobs gained, 11.5% increase;
  • Education and health: 4,600 jobs gained, 1.6% increase;
  • Professional and business services: 3,400 jobs gained, 1.7% increase;
  • Construction and mining: 3,300 jobs gained, 6.5% increase;
  • Manufacturing: 2,400 jobs gained, 1.6% increase.

Three supersectors recording declines included:

  • Government: 4,700 jobs lost, 2.2% decline;
  • Information: 1,300 jobs lost, 4.4% decline;
  • Financial activities: 1,100 jobs lost, 0.9% decline.

The Hartford region led statewide gains adding 9,200 jobs. The Danbury region also added 3,200 net jobs, and the Norwich-New London-Westerly, R.I., region added 3,000.

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