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What recovery? Top 10 cities losing jobs

For some regions of the US, talk of an economic recovery is more wishful thinking than reality. Here are the top 10 metropolitan areas that continue to struggle with unemployment, from the Carpet Capital of the World to the home of an Ivy League university.

4. Norwich-New London, Conn.: -4.3 percent

Sean D. Elliot/The Day/AP
A Norwich, Conn., police patrol boat provides escort as the Freedom Schooner Amistad enters Norwich Harbor from the Thames River on June 12, 2012. Along with New London, the region is a former seaport and a whaling hub that has since lost its shipping relevance. The region was hit hard by the recession, losing some 13,000 jobs from 2008.

Tucked in southeastern Connecticut along Long Island Sound and the Rhode Island border, the nearly two dozen historic communities that make up this metro area are no stranger to economic downturns. New London, one of the region’s anchor cities, is a seaport and former whaling hub that gradually lost its shipping relevance. The region was hit hard by the recession, losing some 13,000 jobs from 2008. Nearly half those jobs – 5,600 – were lost in the past year alone.  

The main culprits: layoffs from the Electric Boat shipyard, a submarine manufacturer, and the behemoth pharmaceutical company, Pfizer Inc., according to a report commissioned by the United States Conference of Mayors. The local gaming industry has also been hurt by recent competition in neighboring Massachusetts.

Connecticut is trying hard to create jobs with government incentives, which convinced a sport-equipment manufacturer in the region to use state funds to hire and train four new workers. The reason for the new hires is more impressive than the number: The manufacturer is bringing back jobs it previously outsourced overseas.

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

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