CT employment to grow by 13.5% through Q2 of 2022, says Labor Dept.

The state Department of Labor is projecting that Connecticut will grow by 208,246 jobs, or 13.5%, from the second quarter of this year through Q2 of 2022. That would bring the state”™s total employment to 1,750,039.

Every occupational group is projected to add jobs through Q2 of 2022, with growth ranging between 2.9% for the architecture and engineering sector to 71.2% for food preparation and serving related.

Transportation and material moving is predicted to grow by 19.5%; personal care and service by 58.4%; and sales and related occupations by 12.5%. Along with food preparation, those four sectors represent a combined 24% of base quarter employment and 56% of projected growth, as they were hardest hit by the pandemic.

Other large occupational groups, all with employment of 100,000 or more, will realize more muted growth: office and administrative support is projected to grow by 6.8%; management by 7.4%; and education, training and library occupation by 5.6%.

The state Labor Department projects Connecticut”™s 2020 to 2022 job growth to rise at a higher rate than Massachusetts”™ 12.5% but below New York”™s 17%. The two-year projected growth rates vary in accordance with percent employment declines in the preceding two-year period.

From Q2 2018 to Q2 2020, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts recorded respective employment declines of 16.9%, 15.1% and 14.8%.

“Connecticut”™s short-term projections show that the state is well on its way to rebound from the economic downturn that began early last year,” wrote Connecticut Labor Department Economist Matthew Krzyzek. “The highest growth industries and occupations are those that were most impacted by shutdown orders and other Covid-mitigation policies.

“As the recovery continues,” Krzyzek continued, “we expect that future rounds of employment growth projections in the state will realign to more proportional growth with less drastic industry variance.”