On Wednesday, July 29, 2015, the Connecticut Department of Labor (CT DOL) – Office of Research released their monthly Business and Employment Changes Announced in the Media report. This latest update is not a strong indicator that the Connecticut economy is improving significantly because there aren’t enough new jobs to make up for the amount of jobs the State continues to lose due to companies leaving the State or closing their doors for good.

The job losses formally announced in July total 827 across the State of Connecticut. The biggest disappointment… Hallmark is closing its distribution center in Enfield and 570 workers will lose their jobs. KLX, an aerospace company in Stratford, is closing its facility and 32 workers will lose their jobs. Bentara, a restaurant in New Haven, also closed its doors this month and 12 employees lost their jobs.

As for companies in the healthcare industry, Quest Diagnostics is laying off 80 employees in their Wallingford location and Eastern Connecticut Health Network is laying off 38 employees in their Manchester and Vernon locations this summer. Due to a budget shortfall, the Connecticut Department of Labor itself may be cutting 95 jobs across the state this fall.

As for the job gains formally announced in July, the average will be around 835 new hires across the State of Connecticut. Three companies with big expansion plans… Boscov’s Department Stores plans to hire 350 employees for its new store in Meriden; Synchrony Financial plans to hire 200 to 400 employees in Stamford; and Remedy Partners plans to hire 150 employees in Darien. Core Informatics of Branford also plans to expand and hire 35 more employees.

Written by Alicia Sakal for Examiner.

Photo by Nayu Kim, flickr.com