Connecticut Gained Jobs With Jobless Rate Unchanged

WETHERSFIELD (AP) — The state Labor Department says Connecticut gained 5,300 jobs in October, though the unemployment rate remained unchanged from September at 9.1 percent.

Salvatore DiPillo, a state labor statistics supervisor, says the unemployment rate has hovered at a 34-year high throughout 2010. But he says new filings for unemployment are down from the year before, while private sector employees worked more hours in October compared with last year.

Nationally, the unemployment rate was 9.6 percent in October.

Connecticut’s largest job gains in October were in trade, transportation, and utilities, with 2,300 new jobs. The Labor Department also reported 1,800 additional jobs in professional and business services, and leisure and hospitality, which gained 1,500 jobs.

Overall, nonfarm employment in Connecticut was 1.6 million in October.