The state Labor Department report on job growth and unemployment for February is out.  There was only modest growth in jobs for February, but that trend shows a sharp decline in January was in fact due to winter weather.  Research Director Andy Condon says Danbury and two other Labor Market Areas showed small gains.

Labor officials reported Thursday that the unemployment rate fell to 7 percent in February from 7.2 percent in January. It's still higher than the U.S. rate of 6.7 percent in February.

The state has recovered 59,500 jobs, or nearly half of the jobs lost in the economic downturn from March 2008 to February 2010.

The numbers Thursday come a day after economist Don Klepper-Smith spoke to the Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce.  He says while the state is struggling to rebound from the recession, the Danbury area labor market's business climate is outpacing the overall state economy.