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Connecticut Adds 4,000 Jobs; Unemployment Rate Falls To 7.6%

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. -- With the addition of 4,000 new jobs across Fairfield County and Connecticut, the state unemployment rate dropped from 7.9 percent to 7.6 percent in November, according to the state Department of Labor.

Unemployment fell for the third consecutive month in Connecticut. The unemployment rate is now down to 7.6 percent.

Unemployment fell for the third consecutive month in Connecticut. The unemployment rate is now down to 7.6 percent.

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That marks the third consecutive month of a decline in the state's jobless rate, the department said. 

“November’s strong job growth offset some declines in the third quarter returning us to the positive, though modest growth path we have seen throughout 2013,”  Andy Condon, director of the department's Office of Research, said in a statement. “A third straight month of unemployment rate declines is certainly good news, though these declines are still occurring on a shrinking labor force.”

The unemployment rate is now seven-tenths of a point lower than a year ago, and there are 15,173 fewer unemployed Connecticut residents than a year ago.

Connecticut has now added 16,500 total nonfarm jobs since November 2012. Private sector hiring has also been consistently more active over the year, adding 17,900 positions.

According to the department, the Nutmeg State has recovered  63,500 positions, or 52.4 percent of the 121,200 seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs that were lost in the state between March 2008 and February 2010.

Also, all six major Connecticut Labor Market Areas posted job gains in November, according to the department:

  • The New Haven area added 3,300 jobs, the biggest gain. 
  • The Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk area added 1,500, jobs.
  • The Hartford area added 1,300 jobs.
  • The Danbury area added 500 jobs.
  • The Norwich-New London area added 900 jobs. 
  • The Waterbury area added 200 jobs.

?"While a decrease in the unemployment rate and the addition of more than 4,000 private sector jobs in a month is clearly a step in the right direction, we still have much work to do,” said Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.

“We are making steady progress at growing our economy in a way that will create good paying jobs with good benefits for middle class families,” Malloy said. “But if you haven't been able to get one of these jobs, then you're not feeling the impact of these changes. I want to make it clear that we can't and won’t stop making progress until everyone that wants a job in our state has one."

Connecticut’s unemployment rate is now at its lowest level since February 2009, when it was 7.4 percent.

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