CBIA Response to July 2026 Employment Report

08.20.2026

Media Center

The state’s largest business organization issued the following response to today’s release of the July 2026 employment report. 

“We’re encouraged by the surge in payroll jobs over the past few months, particularly in key sectors like manufacturing, construction, and education and health services,” said CBIA president and CEO Chris DiPentima.

“Nonetheless, our concerns about the overall fragility of Connecticut’s job market continue to grow, given the state’s high unemployment rate and ongoing declines in total employment and the labor force.

“The gap between Connecticut’s unemployment rate—5.2%—and the national rate of 4.1% is now at its widest point since the pandemic.

“Total employment—which includes payroll jobs, along with farm workers, independent contractors, and the self-employed—fell by another 7,100 jobs in July.

“That number is now down by 73,600 jobs—3.9%—since July 2025, the largest one-year drop in total employment in 50 years of collecting the data, excluding the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Connecticut’s labor force—those working and actively looking for work—shrank by another 6,300 people in July and has fallen by 51,400 in the past 12 months.

“To put that in perspective, that’s the equivalent of losing the entire population of East Hartford in a single year.

“There are long-term demographic and workforce challenges facing Connecticut, including the gap between our aging workforce and the number of younger workers entering the labor market.

“Along with slower population growth and reduced immigration, these trends are creating increased pressure on the state’s workforce and overall economy.

“The structural trends over the last year show that payroll job growth is presenting a stronger economy than many Connecticut residents are really experiencing.

“Addressing those trends demands a much clearer understanding of what’s driving the growing disconnect between employer payroll numbers and the labor force and unemployment data that’s coming from household surveys.”

CBIA is Connecticut’s largest business organization, with thousands of member companies, small and large, representing a diverse range of industries from every part of the state. For more information, please contact Scott Beaulieu (860.244.1929).