Connecticut recorded an increase of 3,200 jobs (0.2%) in September, raising the state’s employment level to 1.69 million while the unemployment rate held at the post-pandemic low of 3.5%.
According to data from the state’s Department of Labor, the preliminary August gain of 2,100 positions was revised significantly lower by 2,000 to a 100-jobs increase. Most of this revision was based on local government employment being revised down by 1,700 jobs in August.
“Job growth continued in September and the unemployment rate remained low,” said Patrick Flaherty, director of the Office of Research at the Connecticut Department of Labor. “The private sector has added more than 18,000 jobs so far this year and growth has been balanced across a wide range of industries. The number of unemployed is at a 20-year low.”
Within Fairfield County, the Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk corridor dropped 1,200 positions (-0.3%) while the Greater Danbury area shed 200 jobs (-0.3%) shed 200 payrolls.
CBIA President and CEO Chris DiPentima called the addition of 3,300 jobs in September “a positive sign,” but added that the “August revisions, from an initially reported gain of 2,100 to just a 100-job gain, really highlight the ongoing volatility in the job market.”
DiPentima added, “Connecticut has 96,000 job openings—essentially 1.5 jobs for every unemployed person in the state. “We have the jobs—what’s needed are the people to fill those jobs as the labor shortage remains the biggest hurdle to economic growth. Our workplaces remain very stable, with the average salary growing 4.4% last year and our voluntary quits and total separations rates now among the lowest in the country. However, our hires rate is 35th best among all states, emphasizing the critical need to lower the cost of living and address the lack of affordable housing and childcare options.”