“Connecticut’s job growth is trapped in a frustrating holding pattern,” explained Chris DiPentima, president and CEO of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA), the state’s largest business organization. “That stagnant growth stands in contrast to the significant gains being experienced in other states in the region and across the country.”
He points out that while 17,900 jobs were added through the first half of 2024, 4,400 positions were lost over the last five months. At 0.6%—eight-tenths of a point below the national rate—Connecticut’s 12-month job growth is the slowest in the region and fifth worst in the country. New Hampshire leads the region with 2.1% year-over-year growth, followed by Rhode Island (1.7%), Vermont (1.5%), Maine (0.7%), Massachusetts (0.7%), and Connecticut.
CBIA points out that according to the latest data, there are 28,100 fewer people working and actively looking for work in Connecticut since February 2020. And Connecticut has 73,000 job openings, or 1.3 positions for every unemployed person, with the labor shortage seen as the greatest growth challenge.
While job openings are 5% above pre-pandemic levels, 28,100 people (-1.5%) have left the labor force since February 2020. That “concerning decline” is in stark contrast to regional and national trends—New Hampshire (-0.3%) is the only other New England state with a smaller post-pandemic labor force. At 2.4%, Rhode Island has the region’s strongest labor force growth, followed by Vermont (1.5%), Massachusetts (1.3%), Maine (1.3%), New Hampshire, and Connecticut. The U.S. labor force has grown 2.4% since February 2020…