Community Corner

Southington Seeing Decline in Unemployment Figures

Southington is now looking at a 6.6 percent unemployment rate, while the state weighs in with an 8.2 percent unemployment rate overall.


October unemployment figures released by the Connecticut Department of Labor shows a near 1 percentage change in Southington since August, with the rate dropping twice over the past two months and showing positive growth in the town's economy.

Southington saw its umployement rate max out at 8.5 percent in February and had slight declines in March through May before it leveled out at 7.5 percent in June, according to state Department of Labor statistics. The numbers remained at 7.5 percent during July and August.

By September, however, the rate dropped to 6.9 percent and again to 6.6 percent in October.

More on the unemployment figures can be found on their website.

"We'e been forunate in Southington to be well positioned within the state and to have a growth in the number of opportunities here," Louis Perillo III said earlier this year.

The town will soon be handling the loss of the Hartford Insurance Group, however, as the company prepares to close its Southington branch.

Although the move does not include layoffs, Perillo said it's too early to tell what will happen with the jobs being taken from the local community and whether all employees would be able to travel to keep their positions.

Statewide, unemployment figures remain at 8.2 percent, and seasonally adjusted figures are at 8.7 percent. The state was at 9 percent as of August, according to the Department of Labor.

The Department of Labor reported the following 2011 trend in Southington:



Labor Force

March

24,865 April

24,777 May

24,543 June

24,651 July

24,605 Aug.

24,580 Sept.

24,593 Oct.

24,758 Employed 22,833 22,870 22,657 22,814 22,764 22,745 22,886 23,122 Unemployed 2,032 1,907 1,886 1,837 1,841 1,835 1,707 1,636 Unemployment Rate 8.2 7.7 7.7 7.5 7.5 7.5 6.9 6.6

Find out what's happening in Southingtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here