Connecticut ended 2023 with the loss of 2,500 jobs, a 0.1% decline, according to new data from the state’s Department of Labor.
The preliminary November job gain of 500 positions was revised lower by 600 jobs to a loss of 100 positions. Connecticut ended 2023 with an unemployment rate of 3.8%.
Connecticut’s private sector employment shed 2,900 positions last month (-0.2%) and the government supersector recorded an increase of 400 jobs (0.2%). Within Fairfield County, the Greater Danbury market was lower by 200 and the Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk corridor decreased by 100 jobs.
“While there were month-to-month fluctuations, 2023 was a year of solid growth and low unemployment in the Connecticut labor market,” said Patrick Flaherty, director of the Office of Research at the Connecticut Department of Labor. “Jobs increased by 22,700 in 2023 after growing 26,800 in 2022 – more jobs than were added in any two-year pre-pandemic period since 1999.”
Chris DiPentima, president and CEO of the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA), observed the state has an imbalance between job vacancies and prospective employees.
“The job openings are here – we now have approximately 1.2 job openings for every unemployed person,” he said. “What we need are the people to fill them. However, Connecticut’s labor force – those working and those actively looking for work – declined another 14,300 people last year and is down 37,900 people since February 2020. We must attract more people to the state and that means renewed focus on making Connecticut a more attractive and affordable place to live and work.”
