Connecticut loses 2,000 jobs in March, likely due to storms

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Preliminary figures show Connecticut lost 2,000 jobs in March, a drop that’s partly being blamed on the recent bad weather.

Andy Condon, director of the Department of Labor’s Office of Research, said Thursday the largest job declines were in retail trade, accommodations and food services, “which may have been adversely affected by the nor’easters” that hit Connecticut.

It marked the first month the state has seen a net job loss since October.

The Department of Labor’s monthly employment report shows Connecticut’s unemployment rate is now 4.5 percent, down one-tenth of a percentage point from February. It was 4.9 percent a year ago.

The U.S. jobless rate in March was 4.1 percent.

Connecticut has still not recovered from the economic recession of 2008-to-2010, recouping 80.4 percent of the 119,100 jobs lost.