(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont issued the following statement in response to today’s release of a report containing finalized year-end data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on jobs and employment levels in Connecticut for 2023.
According to the data, in Connecticut:
- The total number of jobs went from 1,677,400 at the start of 2023 to 1,695,800 at the end of the year – an increase of 18,400 jobs over the 12-month period.
- During 2023, the state recovered the total number of jobs lost during the COVID-19 pandemic and has since exceeded that number, meaning there are now more jobs in the state than immediately prior to the start of the pandemic in March 2020. A total of 101.6% of the jobs lost during the pandemic have been recovered, including 102.9% of the private sector jobs.
- Total payroll jobs are currently at their highest level since August 2008.
- Private sector jobs are currently at an all-time high since the reporting of this data began in 1990.
“The continued growth of jobs in Connecticut, particularly among private sector employers, is positive news for our economy, but we cannot afford to take our foot off the gas,” Governor Lamont said. “When I speak with business leaders, they repeatedly tell me that they have job openings, but they need workers to fill them. Through robust workforce training programs, we are determined to connect jobseekers who feel disconnected from the labor force or are unemployed or underemployed with employers that can lead them to good-paying, long-lasting career opportunities. This data is also a reminder that when the state strengthens our own fiscal health and adopts balanced, gimmick-free budgets – as we have done for the last several years – it gives employers the confidence to expand in our state and add more jobs.”
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases data on preliminary jobs estimates each month, and then at the beginning of each year (usually in March) the agency releases benchmarked revisions finalizing that data for the previous calendar year.