Private-sector employment in Connecticut topped 1.38 million in August, new data show, bringing employment just above January 2011 levels.
The figures, released by the state Labor Department, show Connecticut added 6,200 private jobs in August and 4,900 in September, in both months outpacing the national economy. This was a welcome departure from the prior decade’s trend, when the state consistently failed to keep pace with the rest of the country and missed out on much of a national economic expansion (see chart below).
Most of the state’s September growth was in the Trade, Transportation and Utilities super-sector, which added 3,600 jobs. The higher-paying Financial Activities super-sector was essentially flat, and remains down 1,200 jobs for the year.
The state added 35,600 jobs between January and September, and has recovered 72 percent of the jobs lost between February and April 2020. The U.S. economy, by comparison, has recovered 81 percent.
Connecticut remains 75,200 private jobs short of February 2020 levels. If the year-to-date trend of adding just under 4,000 jobs per month continues, Connecticut will not reach pre-COVID private-sector employment levels until 2023. The US economy, on the other hand, is on pace to get there in late spring 2022.