Connecticut Comptroller Sean Scanlon released his latest monthly economic outlook, which offered a projection of $212.1 million General Fund surplus for Fiscal Year 2024 and a Special Transportation Fund surplus of $203.9 million.
In the new forecast, Scanlon’s third for Fiscal Year 2024, the projection is $72.4 million less than last month and $187.6 million lower than budgeted. Scanlon attributed these changes primarily to higher than anticipated expenditure requirements in the Department of Social Services Medicaid account.
“Despite increases in expenditures this past month, our revenue projections remain unchanged, and the overall health of our budget is strong,” said Scanlon. “Both the Connecticut and national economies, especially our labor markets, continue to show resilience in the face of economic headwinds. Connecticut’s unemployment rate remains at a post-Covid low of 3.5% and the state has recovered 99% of the jobs lost during the Covid pandemic.”
One area of Connecticut’s economy that Scanlon expressed concern over was housing – in September, year-over-year sales of single-family homes decreased 28.17% in September and new listings were down 11.4% while the median sales price was up 8.45%. Higher housing costs continue to be a major concern for low- and moderate-income families who are much more likely to rent than own, Scanlon added.
