Valley Independent Sentinel

Unemployment Continues To Rise In The Valley

by Eugene Driscoll | Mar 11, 2010 5:33 pm

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Posted to: Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour, Shelton

The latest unemployment figures are out — and they’re not pretty.

The unemployment rate increased for every town in our coverage area — Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour and Shelton.

In fact, the local rates in January were higher than at any point in 2009.

On the state level, the unemployment hit its highest rate so far in the recession, the Hartford Courant reported.

According to state Labor Department data, which is available here as a PDF, about 5,410 people were out of work in January in the lower Valley. That’s an increase of about 17 percent from December, when 4,607 people were without jobs.

Here is a breakdown of the latest rates.

ANSONIA

The unemployment rate increased 1.2 percent from December to January to 10.7 percent. That’s the highest since September, when the unemployment rate hit 9.8 percent. The city has a workforce of about 10,000 people. In January, 1,078 people were out of work in Ansonia.

DERBY

The unemployment rate increased 1.1 percent, bringing the level to 11.4 percent. The previous high was hit in December, when the unemployment rate was 9.5 percent of the workforce. The January unemployment rate is the highest it has been in Derby since July 1996.

Derby’s workforce totals about 7,000 people.

In January, 800 people were unemployed in Derby.

OXFORD

The unemployment rate increased 1.3 percent in January, to 8 percent.

The town’s highest rate in 2009 was 6.9 percent. Oxford’s workforce hovers around 7,600 people. In January, 614 Oxford residents were out of work.

SEYMOUR

The unemployment rate increased 1.3 percent in January, to 9.5 percent. The 2009 unemployment rate peaked in December, when it was 8.2 percent.

In January, 896 people were unemployed in Seymour. The town’s workforce is about 9,400 people.

SHELTON

The unemployment rate hit 8.7 percent in January, up 1.4 percent from December. That beats the October 2009 high, when employment ran at 7.4 percent.

Shelton has a total workforce of about 23,000 people. In January, 2,022 people were without jobs.

A Reaction

The numbers don’t surprise Joe Caissey, the supervisor at the CTWorks Career Center at 33 Elizabeth St. in Derby.

His organization helps people look for work. They opened a new, larger center in Derby in June.

“Our participation rates have certainly increased since the beginning of the years,” Caissey said. “We’re seeing more people coming through to use the career center than were using it last year.”

“It’s not a big leap — probably 5 percent, but we have observed more people are using the career center here in Derby,” he said.

Many workers who were laid off when Ansonia Brass and Derby Cellular Products downsized are still looking for jobs, Caissey said.

“Ansonia Brass had a big impact. On the other, hand Thule in Seymour was hiring,” Caissey said.

Finding new factory jobs in the Valley is not easy. The only jobs that seem to be available locally are in retail shops or the food service industry, which don’t pay as well.

“There are people that come in here that have been out of work for two years. I’m saying there are a lot of them, but they are out there,” Caissey said.

The CTWorks Career Center offers training opportunities, resume preparation, skill testing, job clubs and support groups.

Click here for a Kate Ramunni story on the center published in November, when the center was seeing 700 people a month.

Call CTWorks at 203-734-3443.

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