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A loss of 4,100 jobs in April has shaken the confidence in thestrength of the state's economy as employment numbers are now backto where they were in January. On Thursday, the state Labor Department reported the loss of 4,100 jobs in April. Combined with the 2,000jobs lost in March, Connecticut has the same number of jobs, 1.628million, it did in January. Later in the day, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy ordered officials from the Labor and Social Services departments to begin coordinating a new plan to help thousands ofpeople who lost their unemployment benefits when the state'sunemployment rate dropped below 8 percent. As a result of thatdrop, about 12,000 Connecticut residents who were expecting tocollect up to 99 weeks of unemployment were stripped of about 20weeks. The departments were tasked to come up with a strategy to helpthese people and produced a plan Monday that the governor accepted. Those people who lost their safety net will get information on jobtraining and other support available when they call the United Way2-1-1 hotline, which is the initial contact for those with expiringbenefits. "While a lower unemployment rate is good news overall, forresidents in jeopardy of losing their benefits, we have a clearobligation to make sure they are aware of the assistance that'savailable," Malloy said in a statement Thursday. "The best thing wecan do for the long term is to make sure we continue to createjobs," he said. "But for those residents facing the loss ofbenefits, I urge you to call 2-1-1 and take advantage of all theresources that are available." In April, Connecticut's unemployment rate was stable at 7.7 percentas the overall labor force shrunk by 400 people and has 6,800 fewerparticipants than a year ago. The national unemployment rate was8.1 percent in April, and the U.S. gained 115,000 jobs. "The decline in both monthly and annual job growth numbers in Aprilis disappointing, but unusual seasonal patterns this past winterinto spring make these numbers difficult to interpret," Andy Condon , the Labor Department's director of research, said in a newsrelease. "Despite variability in growth from month to month, we still appearto be on a path of positive, albeit, modest growth." Donald Klepper-Smith , chief economist with New Haven-based DataCore Partners , said in a letter to clients the strong employment gains ofJanuary and February were overstated due to seasonal factors,including a warmer than usual winter and changes to the way data isweighed in the surveys. According to Klepper-Smith, since the state's revised employmentlow of February 2010, Connecticut has recovered 34,100 jobs, or 29percent of those lost. At this rate, the economist calculates thestate will fully recover all its jobs in 2015. But Klepper-Smith agreed with Condon, economic expansion is neverlinear, and there are signs the economy is continuing to grow at amodest pace. Peter Gioia , the chief economist for the Connecticut Business & Industry Association , said the loss of 4,100 jobs is not a positive sign. "These numbers certainly raise concerns," he said in a phoneinterview Thursday. "We started out the year with a bang." March statistics had a net 11,000 increase in jobs, but April'smean a net increase of only 5,300. "That's not a good direction," Gioia said. "A lot of the losseswere broad-based, geographically dispersed, so that's an issuetoo." He said that Norwich and New London are particularly worrisome. The Bridgeport-Stamford region reported losing 1,400 jobs in themonth, while Danbury was down just 100, according to the LaborDepartment. "We still have quite a ways to go before we can say the recovery issustainable," Gioia said. "The other thing we have to consider iswhat's having the effect. Is it the abnormal weather pattern? Is itEurope? Both? Are there other factors?" Malloy, in a statement Thursday afternoon, noted that since Januaryof 2011, when he took office, 16,000 new private-sector jobs havebeen created. "That said, I fully recognize that we have more work to do," hesaid. "I remain optimistic that moving forward we'll continue tocreate jobs.". I am an expert from customswimgoggles.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Silicone Swim Fins Manufacturer , Waterproof Swim Bag, Polyester Swim Suit,and more.
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