CBIA Reaction to June 2021 Employment Report

The state’s largest business organization issued the following response to today’s release of the June 2021 employment report.

“While we saw overall gains in June, the net loss of private sector jobs highlights the continued fragility of the state’s pandemic recovery,” CBIA president and CEO Chris DiPentima said today.

“Connecticut has now recovered 65% of the 292,400 jobs lost to COVID-19 disruptions, in line with much of the New England region and a little slower than the U.S., which is at 70%.

“However, through the first six months of this year, we’ve added 22,100 jobs, or 1.4%—the slowest in New England and well behind the national average of 2.3%.

“We know that the demand is there, with employers across Connecticut reporting ongoing challenges finding and retaining workers.

“There are a number of factors impacting job growth, including the lack of widely available childcare, fears of contracting COVID-19, and the federal unemployment benefit supplement.

“We expect that the July 1 reinstatement of the work-search requirement for collecting Connecticut unemployment benefits should impact next month’s jobs numbers while the federal supplement will continue to be a factor until it expires in early September.

“There are collaborative efforts underway between businesses and non-profit groups to address the childcare issues—obviously, that industry is also impacted by the factors influencing job growth across the state.”

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 email or call Ali Warshavsky (860.244.1929).