In the Connecticut Department of Labor’s preliminary report on June employment data, the state reached its highest total of workers since March 2008, a 16-year high when combining the public and private sector.
Connecticut has added about 1,100 jobs this year, enough to bring public and private employment to 1,718,700, a total not seen since before the financial recession of the late 2000s and up slightly from previous highs seen last year.
June saw Connecticut add 6,300 jobs, with May’s previous report of 6,500 positions lost reduced to 4,200 jobs lost. The May report was impacted by a major strike and once it ended, 2,300 workers returned to their positions.
As such, Connecticut has an unemployment rate of just 3.8%, lower than the national average of 4.1%.
While the short-term results of the report were positive, Labor Commissioner Danté Bartolomeo said that these results could change in coming months and years due to changes in federal policy. Specifically, with federal tariffs and Medicaid changes having potential impacts on the health care, pharmaceutical, warehouse and transportation industries, employment in those fields could be negatively impacted, she said.
Labor Department Research Director Patrick Flaherty said that Connecticut employment is stable so far in 2025 – unemployment remains low and as many as 80,000 jobs are open and available for job seekers.
The Department of Labor noted that while employment rose in June in Connecticut, the labor force decreased by 3,700 workers, which may be related to immigration policy. Regardless, the state’s 64.8% labor force participation is more than two points higher than the national rate.
In the first six months of 2025, the health care and social assistance industry added the most jobs; in June, manufacturing, leisure and hospitality, professional/business services and government each added at least 1,000 jobs, while trade and financial activities saw job losses in the mid-hundreds.
On a year-to-year basis, employment is up 7,700 positions in Connecticut since June 2024. Hourly earnings in the state have increased $1.15 though employee hours have fallen by 0.5 hours since the start of the year.
