Jobs in Connecticut Not Recession Proof

The economic recession that is effecting most of the nation is expected to cause the loss of around 40,000 jobs in Connecticut before the state begins to recover. According to the most recent report for the Connecticut Center of Economic Analysis at the University of Connecticut, employers in the state will likely do away with these positions during the next two years.

Connecticut’s jobless rate was 6.1 percent during the month of October, which is thankfully below the national average of 6.5 percent. According to the New Haven Register, two factors have made this possible. For starters, falling gas prices have enabled many employers to provide more jobs in Connecticut than they would have had the pump continued to drain profit margins.

Another thing that Connecticut’s job market has going for it is that it has been able to maintain more construction jobs than many places. Unemployment in this sector is lower than the housing industry has caused in other areas.

According the Harford Courant, jobs in Connecticut had been “relatively untouched by the recession” until lately. Reporter Lynn Doan went on to say that economists agree that many industries won’t be able to withstand the pressure if conditions continue as they are now.

Recent jobs in Connecticut to receive the ax include 500 positions at The Hartford, positions at Barnes Group Inc. and Gerber Scientific. Back in August, UConn’s economist predicted the loss of only 9,500 jobs in Connecticut before the end of the recession, but layoffs such as these have drastically effected predications.

Other experts believe that predicating the loss of 40,000 jobs in Connecticut is too optimistic.

Don Klepper-Smith, who is the chairman of Governor M. Jodi Rell’s economic advisory panel, believes that a more realistic figure would be anywhere from 60,000 to 80,000 jobs in Connecticut by the middle of 2010.