Connecticut added 3,500 non-farm jobs in June, state labor officials announced today, bringing the official unemployment rate to 7.9%.
The private sector as a whole shed 600 jobs after adding 8,700 in May, while the government supersector — which includes federal, state and local employees, educators and casino employees — gained 4,100 positions.
“Private sector jobs are up 8,100 over two months as the uneven monthly pattern continues,” said Patrick Flaherty, director of the state Labor Department’s Office of Research. “Even with some recent weaknesses, construction and retail trade have regained 70% or more of the jobs lost during the pandemic. The same is true for management, accommodations, food service and private education, which have added jobs in each of the past two months.”
Labor officials said growth was strongest in the government, leisure, hospitality and professional services sectors. The transportation, construction, finance, manufacturing and education industries all lost ground, though not enough to erase the month’s gains.
The state has now recovered about 189,000 of the 292,400 positions lost during the lockdowns of March and April 2020.
Connecticut still trails the U.S. average unemployment rate, which stands at 5.9%.
