Gov. Malloy Statement on July Jobs Report

Statement

Governor Dannel P. Malloy issued the following statement regarding today's release of the Connecticut Department of Labor's monthly "Labor Situation" report for July 2012.

"I am skeptical about the jobs numbers released today. The employer survey states that Connecticut added more than 5,000 private sector jobs in the month of July. The household survey suggests the state lost 15,100 jobs during that same time period. That's a difference of more than 20,000 jobs. A gap of this magnitude between these two surveys has never happened in the 22 years they've been conducted.

"To buy into the household survey number you'd have to believe that Connecticut lost 503 jobs every day during the month of July, and there's just no evidence to suggest that happened. Unemployment claims have drifted upward, but not at a rate that justifies the household survey number.

"Hence the skepticism.

"Here's what we do know. First, as people flood back into the job market because they're optimistic they can find work, the unemployment rate goes up. Second, it's going to take more than 20 months to turn around a state economy that failed, on a net basis, to grow jobs for more than 20 years. Third, while we'd like to think we completely control our own economic fate, we don't. Like virtually every other state, we're struggling because the national recovery is struggling. And fourth, the uncertainty in Europe continues to act like a lead weight on our backs.

"The phrase "worst economic downturn since the Great Depression' is used so often, we've become immune to the words. But they're true. So, it should come as a surprise to no one that pulling the country and our state out of that downturn is hard. Really hard.

"But let me be clear: we are making progress, and I have every confidence we'll continue to make progress. Just yesterday, we announced an agreement that will retain more than 1,200 high paying jobs with good benefits and create up to 1,000 more in our state. It's also important to remember that the private sector in Connecticut has created more than 23,000 jobs since January of 2011, according to the employer survey.

"I have no doubt that some are going to use this data to advance an agenda. I'm a politician, I get it. But the people of Connecticut need to see beyond the political rhetoric and understand the realities.

"Most of all, the people of Connecticut need to know that my administration continues to work day and night to do whatever we can to foster economic growth. We remain committed to creating good-paying jobs that have good benefits, and we remain committed to making an economic recovery a reality."

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