Unemployment Filings High in Southeast Connecticut, Industry Impact Varies
/As Connecticut and the nation grapple with unprecedented unemployment numbers, an analysis of town-by-town data shows that on a per-capita basis, some of Connecticut’s smaller communities and those in southeast Connecticut are being hit as hard as the state’s largest cities.
Twelve of the 20 municipalities with the highest level unemployment claims, per capita, during the peak of the pandemic were in southeast Connecticut.
The data analysis by the Connecticut Data Collaborative considers the number of initials unemployment claims made during nine weeks during the increasingly restrictive government-required business shutdowns, from 03/15 to 05/10. The data is by town, per 1,000 residents. There were 343,695 claims made during those nine weeks in Connecticut, compared to 132,191 initial claims in all of 2019.
While big cities such as Bridgeport (14,099), Hartford (11,824), Stamford (11,405), Waterbury (10,565), and New Haven (9,432) dominate in absolute numbers, according to officials, towns in New London County are being impacted more on a per-capita basis.
Connecticut’s lowest rates for unemployment claims per 1,000 population during the 9-week period were North Canaan in northwest Connecticut (19 per 1,000), Thompson in northeast Connecticut (25), Scotland (30) and Mansfield (32), also in Eastern Connecticut, all did not exceed 35 claims per 1,000 population,
Yet New London (135 per 1,000), Montville (138 per 1,000), Norwich (186) – all in southeast Connecticut - and Canaan (198) saw much higher application rates.
Overall, on a per capita basis, bearing much of the brunt of much the unemployment spike are communities in Eastern Connecticut, according to the per capita data. Among those communities are Norwich, Montville, New London, Griswold, Sprague, Ledyard, Preston, Voluntown, Lisbon, Groton, Waterford and Clinton.
The communities with the largest number of unemployment claims, per capita, March 15 thru May 10:
1. Canaan 198
2. Norwich 186
3. Montville 138
4. New London 135
5. Griswold 133
6. Sprague 131
7. Ledyard 130
8. Preston 126
9. Voluntown 124
10. Lisbon 113
11. East Hartford 113
12. Plainville 112
13. Manchester 111
14. Groton 111
15. Ansonia 112
16. Derby 112
17. Waterford 111
18. Windsor Locks 110
19. East Haven 110
20. Clinton 109
The data analysis also showed wide disparities by industry in the state. Hardest hit, in terms of unemployment filings, were Accommodation & Food Services; Arts, Entertainment & Recreation; and Self-Employed. Industries such as Finance & Insurance, Public Administration, and Utilities were relatively minimally impacted. The state Department of Labor’s industry employment counts for February 2020 (the latest full month not affected by COVID-19) were used to calculate the percentage of employees by industry who applied for unemployment benefits.
Nearly half of those employed in the Accommodation & Food Services industry – 43.4% - applied for unemployment benefits. Nearly as high a percentage – 39.7% - working in the Arts, Entertainment & Recreation industries also were among the record number of state residents applying for unemployment benefits. More than one-third of those described as self-employed – 36.9% - also filed unemployment claims.
