Hospitality drives CT job growth in March
It is adding 2,100 new jobs
Strong growth at restaurant, hotel and entertainment businesses in Connecticut helped add 4,900 new jobs in the state in March, and kept the unemployment rate steady at 4.5%, according to a new report released Thursday by the Department of Labor.
February’s jobs numbers were also revised upward, for a total of 13,300 jobs gained in the first quarter of 2024.
“It continues to be a competitive market for employers, but it’s providing important opportunities for workers who tend to be overlooked,” Labor Commissioner Danté Bartolomeo said in a statement accompanying the report. Disabled and formerly incarcerated workers could benefit most from the tight hiring market, she added.
“This is the growth we need to keep pace with the demands of the economy, but it’s important that we don’t take our foot off the gas,” said Chris DiPentima, president and CEO of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association. In a hiring market with many open jobs, the state’s businesses seek new partnerships to add more women, immigrants, veterans and those from disadvantaged communities to the workforce, he added.
With 2,100 new jobs added in March, “leisure and hospitality” was the top sector for job growth, followed by “trade, transportation and utilities” with 1,300 new jobs, and “educational and health services” with 1,000.
Professional and business services was the only sector to lose jobs, with a decline of 1,600 positions. State labor experts blamed a slowdown in hiring for temporary workers as companies competed for a full-time workforce.
Rainy weather in March also likely slowed hiring at landscaping businesses, which are included in that sector.
One top labor official warned that the jobs growth in the state could be curtailed in coming months due to national economic factors.
“We expect the pace will slow somewhat as the Federal Reserve continues to address national issues including inflation and interest rates,” said Patrick Flaherty, director of research at the Labor Department.
Also reporting on Thursday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that Connecticut had about 86,000 job openings in February — 9,000 fewer than in February 2023 and a drop of 3,000 openings from January.
Connecticut’s layoff rate was unchanged in February compared to a year ago, tracking with national trends.
That number is likely to rise in coming months as Stratford-based Sikorsky begins laying off as many as 400 workers in Connecticut in the wake of the cancellation of a key U.S. Army helicopter program.
UPS also announced in February it would lay off about 120 workers in Windsor due to cutbacks at its 1 Market Circle facility starting this month.