Press Releases
10/18/2018
Gov. Malloy Statement on Monthly Jobs Report
(HARTFORD, CT) — Governor Dannel P. Malloy today issued the following statement following the release of the September 2018 Labor Situation report. Although preliminary numbers for September show a total loss of 500 jobs for that month, the August numbers were revised upwards from 1,100 jobs to a total gain of 3,300 jobs. In total, private sector jobs are up 23,400 jobs over the year from September 2017 to September 2018. This represents the 98th consecutive month where monthly private sector job numbers exceeded the numbers in the same month in the previous year.
“The Great Recession presented very real challenges for Connecticut businesses and families. Coming into office in 2011, we knew that it was going to take a big and unrelenting effort to help the state not only recover, but to re-position our economy to better withstand future downturns. This month’s labor situation report again demonstrates that we are sustaining important momentum in our long-term effort to increase employment in Connecticut.
“While it’s easy to get distracted by short-term gains and losses, doing so risks missing the important bigger picture. To date, Connecticut has regained all of the private sector jobs lost during the Great Recession and has now added thousands more. Unemployment has dropped from 9.3 percent in December 2010 to 4.2 percent this month. All this at a time when we made government smaller and more efficient, shrinking the size of the executive branch workforce by more than 11 percent since 2011.
“When we lose sight of the significant progress made in our recovery, people become susceptible to false narratives. The reality is that businesses and people are not leaving the state in droves. They’re deciding to set down roots and call Connecticut home because they understand that this is a great place to work, live, grow a business, and raise a family. And time and time again, the facts prove this to be true. According to the U.S. Census Bureau our state’s population grew between 2010 and 2017. Since 2011, we have cemented historic partnership with large employers such as UTC, Sikorsky, Electric Boat, Cigna, ESPN, Aetna/CVS, and Synchrony Financial. At the same time, 100 new companies, including Charter Communications, NBC Sports, and The Jackson Laboratory, moved into the state. Today, more Fortune 500 companies call Connecticut home than did in 2011, increasing from 11 to 17. In total, the state has assisted 2,100 companies retain and create more than 119,000 jobs along the way. And Connecticut has experienced three straight quarters of economic growth.
“Without question, there is more work to do to further stabilize and strengthen important sectors in our economy. We can and should continue to do more to make our state more responsive to the needs of the business community. More can be done to alleviate economic pressures, such as protecting their right to affordable healthcare, on our middle class families. But in order to recognize where we need to go, it is necessary to understand how far we have come.”
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