Clinton's Unemployment Rate Shows Steady Decrease Each Month

Better news for Clinton this month. The latest Department of Labor (DOL) statistics show that the unemployment rate in Clinton has slowly decreased each month since January of 2012.

Several surrounding towns saw an increase in their unemployment rates from April to May and included Madison, Killingworth, Guilford, Branford, Old Saybrook, Chester, Deep River, Durham, Haddam, North Branford, Lyme and Old Lyme.

Here are the unemployment rates for the town since the beginning of the year:

Month 2012          Percent unemployed in Clinton January             7.4 February             7.4 March             6.8 April             6.6 May             6.2

According to the latest DOL statistics, 6.2 percent of Clinton residents were unemployed in May, down from 6.6 percent in April. The stats also show in Clinton during the month of May there were 7,310 people employed and 484 unemployed, out of a workforce of 7,794.

Statewide, the unemployment rate increased from 7.5 percent in April to 8.0 percent in May, after seeing some steady decreases: January (8.5%); February (8.2%); March (8.1%); April (7.5%) and May (8.0%).

“A resumption of more typical seasonal patterns now will hopefully give us a clearer picture going forward on job growth and unemployment in the state,” remarked Andy Condon, director of the agency’s Office of Research. “Growth in the civilian labor force, if it continues, is a sign that more people are actively searching for work and is significant since the labor force had declined four months in a row.”

At this same time last year, the unemployment rate in Connecticut stood at 8.9 percent.

In a statement to the media, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy didn’t directly mention the word “increase” in regard to the unemployment figures. Malloy highlighted how the national unemployment rate is at 8.2 percent, still higher than Connecticut.

“Given the fact that more people are trying to enter the work force because they’re more optimistic they can actually find a job, the change in the unemployment rate is not a surprise,” Malloy said. “As I’ve said all along, changing an economy that failed to grow jobs in a meaningful way for a generation won’t happen overnight. But I am committed to seeing this through.”

He went on to highlight the recent U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis report that Connecticut’s economy was among the .

“So while it’s clear we have a lot more work to do, it’s also clear we’re in the process of turning this thing around,” the governor said.