Courtney Highlights Positive Job Growth in Southeastern Connecticut Connected to shipbuilding and other developments

WASHINGTON, D.C. —Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) highlighted positive job growth data from the Connecticut Department of Labor which showed that the southeastern portion of the state grew slightly faster than other parts of Connecticut. The data also tied the upswing in hiring to growth in the shipbuilding sector among other new developments.

“Today’s report is a positive sign that the southeastern Connecticut region is on a path to recovery, but there is much more work still to be done,” said Courtney. “As noted in the latest Connecticut jobs report, submarine construction is playing a central role in the regions recovery. This is not just about jobs in the Groton shipyard, but about the network of suppliers and manufacturers that support the increasing submarine workload. There is real work to be done before we can say we are fully recovered from the Great Recession, but the strong growth in jobs recently is encouraging.”

The Connecticut Department of Labor released their February jobs report this morning, which found that:

• “This southeastern Connecticut labor market…has started to recover employment after finally bottoming in this recovery last March 2015”
• The region leads the state in annual percentage gains, adding 3,200 jobs since February 2015 representing growth of 2.5%
• The positive trend reflects, in part, “strong shipbuilding (submarines) hiring”