Manufacturers’ News, Inc. — Manufacturing employment in Connecticut declined slightly over the past year, but at a slower rate than in previous years, reports the 2016 Connecticut Manufacturers Register^®, an industrial database and directory published by Manufacturers’ News, Inc. (MNI) Evanston, IL. According to data collected by MNI, Connecticut manufacturers lost 917 industrial jobs from June 2014 to June 2015, or about a half percent.

MNI reports Connecticut is now home to 5,042 manufacturers employing 205,523 workers. Employment in the state’s industrial sector fell 3.7% over the past five years, according to MNI data

“Connecticut still struggles with high business costs and is especially vulnerable to the loss of defense contracts, and this continues to affect the state’s industrial sector,” says Tom Dubin, President of the Evanston, IL-based publishing company, which has been surveying industry since 1912. “However, with a highly educated workforce and abundance of capital drawing more innovative companies to the state, this year’s minimal loss could actually be the beginning of a turnaround.”

Declines were spread out across most sectors, reports MNI, and included furniture/fixtures, down 9%; printing/publishing, down 6.9%; rubber/plastics, down 5.7%; stone/clay/glass, down 3.5%; and industrial machinery, down 1%.

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Growth in the transportation equipment sector was one of the bright spots from this year’s survey, with jobs in that industry up 2.3%. The transportation equipment industry ranks as Connecticut’s largest manufacturing sector by number of jobs, employing 35,155.

Additional gains were recorded in medical instruments and electronics, both up 1.7%.

MNI’s city data shows Stratford ranks first in the state for manufacturing employment, with 9,093 jobs, down 2.7%. Jobs fell 1.2% in second-ranked Bristol, and 1% in third-ranked North Haven.

Established in 1912, Manufacturers’ News, Inc. is the nation’s oldest and largest publisher of industrial information. MNI offers a variety of tailored solutions to help customers connect with 430,000 manufacturers and suppliers. MNI’s industrial database subscription service EZ Select (www.ezselect.com) allows users to tap into a live interactive database of manufacturers, while its industrial search engine IndustryNet (www.industrynet.com) connects buyers and suppliers and allows users to view profiles and obtain competitive quotes. For more information, contact Manufacturers’ News, Inc. 847-864-7000. http://www.manufacturersnews.com

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