🔒Flaherty: Baby boomer retirements will impact CT’s growth prospects

Connecticut’s total employment has more than fully recovered from the COVID-19 lockdown, with private sector employment achieving all-time highs during 2024.

Growth will continue in 2025, but will be a bit slower. Retirements seem to have picked up in 2024 and that trend is likely to continue as the youngest of the baby boomers (those born between approximately 1946 to 1964) approach retirement years.

Retirements had an impact on manufacturing in 2024. While there is significant hiring by some large manufacturing employers, and there are successful training programs that create a new worker pipeline for this industry, there was little overall manufacturing job growth as the job gains were offset by retirements.

Experience is difficult to replace, and the data shows an increase in employment in manufacturing in younger age cohorts; these workers will gain experience over time.

Connecticut’s unemployment rate remains extremely low. Despite some highly publicized layoff announcements, the number of workers filing for unemployment benefits remains low. This suggests that workers are transitioning to new jobs relatively quickly.

While the number of job openings in Connecticut has come down from historic highs, workers are still in demand as openings remain above pre-pandemic levels.

Health care and social assistance is the state’s largest industry and has added nearly 25,000 jobs over the past year. Demand for health care is projected to continue growing.

The largest risks to the Connecticut economy come from national and international conditions. While Connecticut’s economy proved its resilience after the COVID-19 lockdown, the state will not be immune to a national economic contraction. 

Patrick Flaherty is the director of research and information at the Connecticut Department of Labor.