After several months of job losses, Connecticut ended 2024 with stronger employment gains, according to a new report from the state Department of Labor (DOL).
The state added about 5,100 jobs in December, and the unemployment rate remained stable at 3% – a 23-year low, DOL said.
The private sector drove most of the December gains, adding 4,700 net new jobs; the government sector added 400 jobs.
Year-over-year, the state added 20,100 jobs compared to December 2023.
Meantime, employers listed about 73,000 job openings.
“December appears to have been a strong growth month,” said DOL Commissioner Danté Bartolomeo. “As did employers nationally, Connecticut employers added a significant number of jobs.”
The growth in November and December, she said, may signal that the state “broke out of the post-2020 pattern of a weaker end-of-year jobs report.”
Specifically, the state’s manufacturing sector has been actively hiring, but it appeared to lose 100 jobs in 2024 due to a high number of retirements, according to the DOL.
The number of unemployment claims remains relatively low, at less than 25,000.
Also, the DOL revised its previous report that said the state added 300 jobs in November, increasing the number to 1,800.
The DOL is continuing to watch the national economy for signs of increasing inflation, energy costs or other pressures that could have an impact locally, Bartolomeo said.
Eight industry supersectors increased employment in December:
- Trade, Transportation & Utilities +1,900 0.6% 299,000
- Educational and Health Services +1,400 0.4% 371,800
- Leisure & Hospitality +600 0.4% 157,200
- Financial Activities +400 0.3% 120,400
- Government +400 0.2% 233,500
- Information +200 0.7% 29,800
- Other Services +200 0.3% 64,800
- Construction and Mining +100 0.2% 63,000
- One industry subsector lost jobs:
- Professional and Business Services -100 -0.05% 218,600
Manufacturing employment was unchanged, with 157,800 jobs, according to DOL.
