<H3>• Connecticut Employment Situation - May 2014</H3>

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Preliminary May job figures from the federal business payroll survey disclose an increasing pace of job growth for the state. Connecticut added 5,800 total nonfarm jobs (0.3%) in May, with seven of ten major industry supersectors growing. This is the fourth straight monthly employment increase since January and the state has now added 12,500 jobs (0.8%) over the year. The May seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment level of 1,665,500 is now at a new employment recovery highpoint for the state, surpassing the old recovery high of 1,663,500 reached in December 2013, just before the January deep freeze set in. Results from the residential survey show Connecticut’s unemployment was 6.9% for May, unchanged from the April 2014 figure, but down nine-tenths of a percentage point from the May 2013 unemployment rate (7.8%). Seven of ten major industry supersectors added positions in the month of May while two supersectors declined and one was unchanged. The seven major industry supersector level nonfarm job gains were led higher by professional and business services (2,300, 1.1%). The trade, transportation & utilities (2,000, 0.7%) supersector also provided strong job growth as transportation (1,100, 2.1%) and wholesale trade (1,000, 1.6%) boosted the grouping. The manufacturing supersector (1,000, 0.6%) was another large job gainer, with the capital intensive durable goods component (1,100, 0.9%) providing all of the increase. The leisure and hospitality (700, 0.5%) supersector and the government supersector (700, 0.3%) each added 700 positions, while the education and health services (400, 0.1%) and other services (400, 0.7%) supersectors added 400 jobs each. Restaurants and hotels were a strong contributor to the leisure supersector. The two job-losing industry supersectors were led by financial activities (-900, -0.7%). Insurance appeared to be the weakest component in the group and real estate was lower as well. The combined construction and mining (-800, -1.4%) supersector was also lower in May, but had performed bettter than expected in the recent very cold winter months. The information supersector was unchanged this May. 2 Recession recovery: Connecticut has now recovered 71,600 positions, or 60.1% of the 11 Recession recovery: Connecticut has now recovered 71,600 positions, or 60.1% of the 119,100 seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs that were lost in the state during the March 2008 - February 2010 employment recession. Labor Market Areas (LMAs): May 2014 preliminary nonfarm estimates indicate three of the six major Connecticut Labor Market Areas (Bureau of Labor Statistics-recognized LMAs) gained jobs, while three LMAs exhibited small employment declines. The regional employment growth in May appeared to be located around the center of the state. The Hartford LMA (5,700, 1.0%) led all Connecticut LMA growth by a wide margin. The New Haven LMA (500, 0.2%) and Waterbury LMA (400, 0.6%) added positions as well. The three declining LMAs posted small job losses and were led by the Danbury LMA (-300, -0.4%). The Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk LMA (-100, -0.02%) and the Norwich-New London LMA (-100, -0.1%) remained essentially flat. Note: The major Connecticut LMAs are estimated and seasonally adjusted independently from the statewide numbers by the BLS and cover about 90% of the nonfarm employment in the state, so they will not fully sum to the statewide total. Hours and Earnings: The private sector workweek, not seasonally adjusted, averaged 33.6 hours in May 2014, unchanged from the May 2013 estimate of 33.6 hours. Average hourly earnings at $27.83, not seasonally adjusted, were down just six cents, or -0.2% from the May 2013 hourly private sector pay figure of $27.89. The resulting average private sector weekly pay was calculated at $935.09, down $2.01, or -0.2% over the year. Labor Force Data (residential household survey) Connecticut’s unemployment rate was estimated at 6.9% for May 2014 (seasonally adjusted). This is unchanged from April 2014, but down nine-tenths of a percentage point from the May 2013 unemployment rate of 7.8%. May’s statewide civilian labor force grew higher for the fifth month (9,073, 0.5%) and is now clearly positive over the year (13,219, 0.7%). The unemployment rate in Connecticut has not been this low since it was 7.0% in January of 2009, in the midst of the financial crisis. The May 2014 average weekly initial unemployment claims for first-time Connecticut filers (seasonally adjusted) decreased See the complete report at this link: CTDOL

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