Connecticut lost 4,200 jobs in February, erasing the same number of positions added in January and pushing the state’s unemployment rate up to 4.7%, according to data released Tuesday by the Connecticut Department of Labor. The February figures represent a reversal from a revised January gain of 4,200 jobs, with the unemployment rate climbing 0.2 […]
Connecticut lost 4,200 jobs in February, erasing the same number of positions added in January and pushing the state’s unemployment rate up to 4.7%, according to data released Tuesday by the Connecticut Department of Labor.
The February figures represent a reversal from a revised January gain of 4,200 jobs, with the unemployment rate climbing 0.2 percentage points from the prior month.
Despite the uptick, the department noted that unemployment benefit claims and Trust Fund payments remain consistent with the same period last year.
Commissioner Danté Bartolomeo attributed the slowdown to softer hiring and a shrinking labor force.
“Connecticut’s economy follows national trends,” Bartolomeo said. “Nationally, we see slower growth, slower hiring, and a shrinking labor force — the state’s labor market is following suit."
The department’s director of research, Patrick Flaherty, said February’s report captured expected seasonal softness stemming from a cold, snowy January and school vacation weeks.
Flaherty also noted that payroll employment remains roughly where it stood in 2008, and that the rise in self-employment has driven overall labor force growth in the intervening years. He suggested the unemployment rate increase may partly reflect self-employed workers re-entering the market in search of traditional payroll jobs.
Connecticut’s labor force shrank by 2,100 workers in February. Sectors posting gains included health care and social assistance, information and manufacturing, while administrative and support services, other services, and transportation and warehousing all declined.
The information sector’s gains were tied in part to Olympic-related media activity. NBC Sports had about 1,600 people working at its Stamford headquarters during the 2026 Winter Olympics, according to CT Insider.
Starting this year, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics has discontinued its monthly state-level Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey reports, though it continues to produce national figures.
Connecticut is now using Help Wanted Online data to track job openings. The data showed roughly 85,000 job postings in the state in March.
Officials said slower hiring is keeping job seekers in the market longer and causing postings to remain active for extended periods. The proliferation of artificial intelligence tools may also be inflating posting counts, they said, as employers can now more easily list openings before they are ready to hire.
