The first month of 2025 continued a positive trend in Connecticut’s economy that bolstered state employment for all of 2024, with patterns of job growth bringing the state to all-time highs.
In January, the state Department of Labor said, Connecticut added 2,300 jobs across the economy, following positive trends throughout 2024. Last year, Connecticut added 16,000 jobs, with the labor force reaching record numbers with more than 1.7 million total payroll jobs statewide. In December, the state saw 3,500 jobs added to its payrolls.
Department of Labor Director of Research Patrick Flaherty said this was the highest number of jobs in the state since 2008. The unemployment rate has been flat since 2023, remaining between 3.0 and 3.3%, well below the national rate of 4%.
“With more than 1.7 million payroll jobs in Connecticut, it’s worth noting that Connecticut employers have sustained high job levels for 14 consecutive months,” Flaherty said.
In a press release, Department of Labor Commissioner Danté Bartolomeo said the statewide economy remained in good shape so far.
“While not reflected in the data yet, changes taking place on a national level will impact Connecticut’s economy; we are taking a cautious look ahead at 2025,” Bartolomeo said.
The health care and social assistance industry was the strongest in Connecticut in 2024, with labor leaders noting it has the most demand for workers in the current marketplace. In January, professional and business services added 1,800 jobs, while financial services and government were the only other fields to see growth of 400+ jobs.
When combined with the previous year, Connecticut has added more than 35,000 jobs to its economy, pushing its total recovery from the severe layoffs and interruptions of the pandemic well over prior staffing levels. The state’s labor force participation rate of 65% was also well ahead of an overall national participation rate of 62.6%.
The state has about 34,000 people filing for unemployment weekly and about 70,000 open jobs right now, according to the labor report.
