Connecticut Closes Out 2022 With Job Losses

by Christine Stuart

After 11 consecutive months of steady employment gains, Connecticut saw a sudden reversal of fortune in December with a loss of about 1,600 jobs.

“As expected given action by the Federal Reserve, we saw Connecticut numbers moderate in December,” Connecticut Labor Commissioner Dante Bartolomeo said. “In 2022, Connecticut added jobs faster than any year since 1996—this strong growth created a historically high number of jobs available in the state and, with low unemployment, employers continue to be challenged by a smaller workforce. U.S. Treasury economic priorities and inflation are among the issues that we’re watching going into 2023.”

Connecticut’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.2%, but the state still has more than 100,000 job openings.

“The pace of Connecticut’s job growth is simply not meeting the demands of our economy,” CBIA President and CEO Chris DiPentima said. “At 2%, our 2022 job growth rate is one of the region’s slowest and trails the national rate by a

John P. Thomas

Publisher / CEO

Babz Rawls Ivy

Editor-in-Chief

Liaison, Corporate Affairs

Babz@penfieldcomm.com

Advertising/Sales Team

Keith Jackson Delores Alleyne

John Thomas, III

Editorial Team

Staff Writers

Christian Lewis/Current Affairs

Anthony Scott/Sports

Arlene Davis-Rudd/Politics

Contributing Writers

David Asbery / Tanisha Asbery

Jerry Craft / Cartoons / Barbara Fair

Dr. Tamiko Jackson-McArthur

Michelle Turner / Smita Shrestha

William Spivey / Kam Williams

Rev. Samuel T. Ross-Lee

Contributors At-Large

Christine Stuart www.CTNewsJunkie.com

Paul Bass www.newhavenindependent.org

Memberships

full percentage point, while our pandemic recovery rate is 89%, well behind the U.S. at 106%.”

Only five of the 10 industry groups added jobs in December.

“December was a complex month with Connecticut impacted by national issues including inflation and energy costs,” CTDOL Director of Research Patrick Flaherty said. “Despite revisions, 2022 was a strong year for the state with the addition of 32,000 jobs, a declining unemployment rate, and total recovery of key industry sectors. As we look ahead to 2023, we expect to see strong growth in manufacturing and construction industry jobs due to state and federal infrastructure priorities such as transportation improvements and housing expansion.”

But Connecticut’s largest business lobby said that growth can only happen if Connecticut grows its workforce.

“Our workforce development efforts must go beyond skills training and encouraging people to rejoin the labor force—it’s critical that we also focus on attracting more people to Connecticut,” DiPentima said.

National Association of Black Journalist

National Newspapers Publishers Association

Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce

Greater New Haven Business & Professional

Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council, Inc.

The Inner-City Newspaper is published weekly by Penfield Communications, Inc. from offices located at 50 Fitch Street, 2nd Floor, New Haven, CT 06515. 203-387-0354 phone; 203-3872684 fax. Subscriptions:$260 per year (does not include sales tax for the in State subscriptions). Send name, address, zip code with payment. Postmaster, send address changes to 50 Fitch Street, New Haven, CT 06515. Display ad deadline Friday prior to insertion date at 5:00pm Advertisers are responsible for checking ads for error in publication. Penfield Communications, Inc d.b.a., “The Inner-City Newspaper” , shall not be liable for failure to publish an ad or for typographical errors or errors in publication, except to the extent of the cost of the space in which actual error appeared in the first insertion. The Publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising for any reason and to alter advertising copy or graphics deemed unacceptable for publication. The entire contents of The Inner-City Newspaper are copyright 2012, Penfield Communications, Inc. and no portion may be reproduced by any means without the written permission of the publisher.