in this issue the connecticut economic digest vol 3 no 12 a joint publication of department labor & and community development a71 december 1998 industry clusters housing update leading coincident indicators 5 6 8 comparative regional data 9 indicator trends 10 13 nonfarm empl estimates 14 19 force 20 hours earnings 21 permit activity 22 technical notes 23 at glance 24 by j charles joo joseph slepski research analysts retail help wanted s digestdecember a73 trade are ana lyzed article pp 1 4 board convened for state outlook p october employment up 200 from year ago unemployment rate percent down september initial claims slightly permits over 7 sales increased 2 through august ince hitting low point 1992 employ