Connecticut added 17,000 payroll jobs in September — a slight dip from August’s jobs numbers — even as employment in the state remained 6% below the same time last year.
The state Department of Labor (DOL) on Monday said Connecticut gained 17,000 net non-agricultural jobs last month for a total of 1,585,100 seasonally adjusted jobs. The Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the state’s unemployment rate at 7.8%, down from 8.2% in August.
The preliminary August 2020 job gain was also revised higher by 1,500 jobs, for a monthly total of 21,900.
“Even with overall job gains slower than in the previous four months, Connecticut has now recovered more than 60% of the 291,300 jobs lost during the March-April 2020 onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Wholesale trade and retail trade are more than 90% and 70% recovered respectively,” said Patrick Flaherty, acting director of the office of research at the Connecticut Department of Labor.
The largest job gains in September were in the sectors of leisure and hospitality (up 5.7%); professional and business Services (up 2.1%) and government (up 1%), Flaherty said.
Other September job gainers included companies in trade, transportation and utilities (2,500); manufacturing (1,400) and education and health (1,300).
The Hartford region added the most jobs in August with 3,600 jobs, followed by the New Haven region with 2,100 jobs added and Norwich–New London–Westerly with 900 jobs added.
