Westport’s unemployment rate in July increased to 6.2 percent from 6 percent in June (corrected from the earlier announced 5.9 percent), the Connecticut Department of Labor said.
It was just below the 6.3 percent May rate which was the highest since January when it was 6.6 percent. The department said the number of unemployed in July was 809, up 40 from 769 in June.
While the unemployment rate was up, the Department of Labor said the July labor force in Westport numbered 13,054 persons with 12,245 employed, both figures a high for the year.
The Westport labor force number increased by 152 persons in July over June, the department said, with 112 more persons employed in July over June.
Economists suggested college students home for the summer impacted the labor force figures.
Gotta love “economists who suggest things”. How can college kids home for the summer be added to the unemployment numbers if they were never employed in Westport to begin with. In fact, many of these students home for the summer actually take temporary jobs which probably would increase the “employed” numbers in town. Ah….statistics!
Wally Woods
I totally agree with Wally’s post.
Don’t quite understand how college kids home for summer might account for the increase. To apply for unemployment benefits you would have to have been previously employed, no? How can a kid home from college be eligible?
If you read it closely, I don’t believe those collge kids were included in the unemployment rate. They were simply included in the labor force numbers. If anything, I think it is misleading. Correct me if I’m wrong.
Figures don’t lie, but liars figure. Mark Twain
And politicians have made it an art.