Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

CT suffers April job losses of ‘epic proportions’ with 266,000 positions gone

Labor commissioner estimates unemployment rate at 17.5%

  • Labor
  • by Keith M. Phaneuf
  • May 21, 2020
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

Connecticut’s labor commissioner said state unemployment is in the range of 17.5%, but not reflected in federal data.

Connecticut lost a staggering 266,300 jobs in April — the first full month of coronavirus-related shutdowns — more than double the positions lost in 22 months during the last recession.

And while the department officially must report a 7.9% unemployment rate — which is based on a U.S. census-based survey — flaws in that process mean the effective rate is closer to 17.5%, Labor Commissioner Kurt Westby said. The state reported a 3.7% jobless rate in March.

“We’re talking about job losses of epic proportions,” Westby said during an early afternoon conference call.

Connecticut lost nearly 120,000 jobs between March 2008 and January 2010, a period dubbed by many economists at “The Great Recession.”

More importantly, 288,400 jobs Connecticut has lost in March and April actually exceeds the combined unemployment caused by  “The Great Recession” and the recession of 1989-through-1992 — the state’s two harshest economic downturns in recent history.

“I’m still trying to wrap my mind around these April job numbers,” said economist Donald Klepper-Smith of DataCore Partners. He said this easily wipes out the nearly 103,000 jobs Connecticut gained over the past decade in its recovery from the last recession. 

“The damage wrought thus far has been both swift and massive,” added Klepper-Smith, who was the state’s chief economic adviser in the late 2000s. “Barring an immediate cure or vaccine for the coronavirus, this one-month job decline for April implies not only a harsh new economic landscape for Connecticut, but one that is apt to leave scars on the local economy and its residents for months and years to come in the same way that consumer behaviors were abruptly altered back in the 1930s.”

Joseph F. Brennan, president and CEO of the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, called for a “dramatic reshaping” of state government’s relationship to the business community.

“Hundreds of thousands of people are suffering and the best remedy we have is to find ways to get them back to work as quickly and as safely as possible,” Brennan said. “Let’s rebuild better and faster than other states.”

Federal labor officials reported last week the nation had lost 20.5 million jobs in April as the U.S. unemployment rate erupted to 14.7%.

“We’re talking about job losses of epic proportions.”

–Connecticut Labor Commissioner Kurt Westby

Leisure and hospitality businesses lost the most jobs nationwide but all sectors of the economy experienced losses, as recession conditions that normally take months to develop happened in a matter of weeks.

Andy Condon, who heads the state labor department’s Office of Research, said all regions of Connecticut “were significantly damaged.” But the Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk labor market, where the coronavirus struck first, and southeastern Connecticut, where a major portion of Connecticut’s tourism and hospitality jobs are located, were hit the worst.

The state’s official unemployment rate is based on a local business survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. But those survey results, which covers a one-month period ending in mid-April, “are way low” for several reasons, Westby said.

Census bureau staff could not collect any data in person, making the sample size particularly low, the commissioner said. There also were a “high degree of inaccurate responses” with many workers identified only as “sick” when they also had been laid off.

Condon said federal labor officials also acknowledged to their Connecticut counterparts that the 7.9% unemployment rate “does not represent what was going on in Connecticut.”

CT to accept applications for extended unemployment relief on Tuesday

Connecticut labor officials also announced that another form of enhanced federal relief for the unemployed should be available to residents here starting next week.

The state labor department will mail instruction letters Friday to an estimated 77,000 individuals who have been identified as “potentially eligible” to apply for 13 weeks of emergency, extended unemployment benefits.

These would be available through the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation [PEUC] program, a federal initiative that extends traditional 26-week state benefit coverage to a total of 39 weeks.

Deputy Labor Commissioner Dante Bartolomeo said department staff were hindered by a data processing shutdown that affected nearly all of state government this past Tuesday and Wednesday. But labor officials still expect Connecticut’s online benefits filing system — located at www.filectui.com — to be ready to accept applications for the federal extension program beginning on Tuesday, May 26.

“The pandemic has resulted in devastating effects for our families and Connecticut’s economy,” Westby said. “This extension of benefits will help people pay their bills and support businesses in our communities.”

Westby added that Connectcut’s unemployment trust fund likely will remain solvent through the month of May. But insolvency is not a crisis, and many states’ trust funds run out of resources during a recession, at which point they are eligible to borrow from the federal unemployment trust.

Connecticut, which has received more than 547,000 applications for benefits, and paid out more than $1.58 billion in benefits, has about $303 million remaining in the state’s trust fund.

The federal trust already has reserved up to $750 million Connecticut can borrow, Westby said, adding the state likely would need to borrow some — but likely not all — of those resources in June.

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Keith M. Phaneuf A winner of numerous journalism awards, Keith Phaneuf has been CT Mirror’s state finances reporter since it launched in 2010. The former State Capitol bureau chief for The Journal Inquirer of Manchester, Keith has spent most of 31 years as a reporter specializing in state government finances, analyzing such topics as income tax equity, waste in government and the complex funding systems behind Connecticut’s transportation and social services networks. A former contributing writer to The New York Times, Keith is a graduate of and a former journalism instructor at the University of Connecticut.

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
As mass vaccination centers take the lead in the COVID race, the push is on to reach the most vulnerable
by Dave Altimari

While mass vaccination sites have helped overall vaccination rates, they have not reached the state's most vulnerable populations.

Governor says frustrations with vaccine rollout should be with CDC guidelines
by Adria Watson

Lamont also said 30,000 doses of new J&J vaccine could arrive next week

Disability Rights CT files federal complaint over age-based vaccine rollout
by Kelan Lyons

The complaint alleges the state's age-based vaccine distribution plan discriminates against people with disabilities.

People with disabilities were next in line for COVID vaccine. Then the plan changed.
by Kelan Lyons

Younger people with chronic medical conditions feel left behind by the governor's new vaccine plan, which prioritizes by age.

Members of CT’s vaccine advisory group, surprised by Lamont’s new vaccine rollout plan, contemplate path forward
by Jenna Carlesso

The move by the governor stunned some members of the panel’s allocation subcommittee.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion The historical basis of zoning begs for reform
by Lawrence Rizzolo

Discussions of race are fraught with emotion. Witness the zoning reforms being discussed in our legislature. I will attempt to advance a dispassionate argument that is based on government-sponsored racism that occurred during my lifetime and led to the structural problems that persist today.

Opinion Lamont must stop waffling on the Killingly power plant issue
by Tennyson Benedict

On January 19, Gov. Ned Lamont gave his bluntest comments yet regarding the controversial Killingly natural gas plant, saying, “I don’t want to build Killingly.”  Yet, Lamont still refuses to wield his executive authority to actually stop its construction, and instead offers vague suggestions that market forces will stop the plant’s construction.

Opinion Religious freedom is less than righteousness
by Spencer Hill

The CT Viewpoints opinion “Religious freedom is more than religion” shows just how entrenched is the sincerely held belief that one man’s notion of “freedom” dictates the liberty of others.

Opinion To boost economy, state should invest in the ‘last mile’ of broadband connectivity
by Thomas J. Peters, Ph.D

In his budget address on February 10,   Gov. Ned Lamont announced his intent to expand broadband connectivity in Connecticut, an effort to be lauded. Connecticut enjoys a significant competitive advantage for economic development in the Connecticut Education Network (CEN), “ a 2,500 route mile, all optical, high-performance internet network.”

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO