We were told Connecticut had recovered all of the private sector jobs that were lost during the Great Recession, but new numbers released today show this is not true.
Previously, state labor officials had reported that the state gained 26,900 jobs last year. Today that number was revised down by the Connecticut Department of Labor to 12,200, a reduction of more than half.
The revisions were based on information compiled by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Based on these new numbers, the state has only recovered 86 percent of the private-sector jobs that were lost during the recession, and 73 percent of total jobs lost.
Last month Connecticut’s unemployment rate went up by 0.1 percent to 5.5 percent, while the national unemployment rate is down to 4.9 percent. The state reported that it added 900 net jobs last month, but only 100 of those were in the private sector.
Today’s news, besides casting a dismal shadow on the state’s economy, also raises questions as to why the state’s estimates were so far off the mark.
As budget revenue forecasts are continually revised downward, and now jobs numbers as well, state officials should look at why their predictions are always rosier than reality.
