National Employment Grows, CT May Follow Suit

New national employment figures shocked economists, showing U.S. payrolls growing by 150,000 jobs in October, more than twice what was expected. Local hiring firms say the numbers may mean good news for Connecticut too. WNPR’s Harriet Jones reports.

Economists had predicted only weak private sector hiring in October at around 60,000 jobs, and the real total came as a pleasant surprise – the highest increase in five months. It also marks the tenth straight month of job gains on the national scene. Connecticut has been more volatile, ending several months of gains in September, when the state saw a loss of 6,000 jobs in one month. Duane Sauer of employment services company Robert Half International in Hartford says he thinks the state will follow the national trend in October.

“We see some sectors here that are picking up, including construction and financial services right now. In October we did see an increase in all types of permanent and temporary hiring.”

And he says seasonal hiring for the holidays also looks healthy:

“We’re seeing an increase already in companies planning for positions such as receptionist. A lot of catalogue companies are gearing up for customer service reps to handle phone calls, and of course for accounting roles – companies right now are starting to hire temps for year-end planning and tax time.”

Connecticut’s department of labor will release the state’s official October employment numbers in two weeks time.

For WNPR, I'm Harriet Jones.