Connecticut’s Unemployment Rate Hits 23-Year Low
By Joe O’Leary
October 23 @ 12:15 pm
September was a banner month for the Connecticut economy, as the state’s unemployment rate plunged to levels not seen since nearly the beginning of the century, according to statistics from the Department of Labor.
The agency reported that the unemployment rate fell to just 3.2% in September, which Gov. Ned Lamont noted was the lowest level of unemployment seen in the Nutmeg State since September 2001. That data was collected prior to the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in New York City, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania that spurred short-term economic headwinds nationally.
The decline in unemployment was welcome news for Connecticut and came as the state saw a slight decrease in government sector employment. In September, private employment across the state remained level while state government employment fell slightly due to student workers not yet being on payroll when the survey was taken. Evening that out, while August saw a net loss in jobs, those numbers were revised to account for 300 more jobs filled than expected.
These figures match trends reported by the Department of Labor where, in recent years, Connecticut has seen strong hiring early in the year that slows down in the latter half of the year with overall growth.
While September did not spur significant growth, Connecticut’s economy has remained resilient amid murky national trends. From the end of 2023 to September 2024, the state added 14,500 total jobs, and compared to the national Labor Force Participation Rate of 62.7%, Connecticut’s stands just over 64%, with more than 75,000 jobs left to be filled for job-seekers.
In a press release, Labor Commissioner Danté Bartolomeo said the state was trending in the right direction.
“While we’ll see monthly ups and downs, the underlying economy remains solid; we must keep our focus on workforce development, housing, and other issues that attract and retain a talented workforce,” she said.
The Department of Labor’s Director of Research, Patrick Flaherty, said that Connecticut was experiencing challenges in improving hiring.
“Stronger economic growth is constrained by the size of the workforce and high retirements in key industries such as manufacturing,” Flaherty said.
In further good news for workers and consumers, on a year-over-year basis, hourly earnings rose 6.1% in the Nutmeg State while the Consumer Price Index went up 2.4%. Not only was the CPI pacing with national inflation year-over-year, hourly earnings were strongly outpacing them, while average weekly earnings surged 8% from a year prior with increases in numbers of hours worked.
