By Keith M. Phaneuf
Despite gaining 900 jobs, Connecticut’s unemployment rate rose slightly in January from 5.4 to 5.5 percent, the state Department of Labor reported today.
The 2015 jobs revision reduced the year’s total by almost 15,000 positions. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Ctmirror.org graphic
The Labor Department also significantly reduced its original job growth projections for 2015 by 14,700 positions. Original job growth of 26,900 was reduced to 12,200. That means Connecticut only has recovered 73 percent, or 86,700 of the jobs lost in the last recession and also hasn’t recovered all private-sector jobs lost.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration hailed it as a strong sign of economic growth late last year when the department declared that all private-sector jobs lost in the last recession had been recovered. But after applying adjustments, the department now says the private sector has regained 96,100 or 86 percent of the jobs it lost in the last recession.
The new jobless rate still is down from the 6.1 percent ratio recorded in January 2015.
