Last month the unemployment rate was 7.7 percent. Now it’s 7.8 percent. Here’s the governor’s new release:
“Governor Dannel P. Malloy issued the following statement regarding today’s release of the Connecticut Department of Labor’s monthly “Labor Situation” report for May 2012, which indicates that the state’s unemployment rate for the month was 7.8 percent, compared to the national rate of 8.2 percent. The state grew 1,400 jobs in the month of May and a total of 6,100 jobs since the beginning of the year.
“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; we saw an example of that increase in job seekers just yesterday in Norwich. 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.
“It’s going to be easy for critics to say that what we’re doing in our state isn’t working. But the facts tell a different story: the most recent report by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis showed Connecticut’s economy grew faster than 41 other states in 2011. 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.”