The U.S. and Connecticut economies present a puzzle in 2026:

*Job growth has slowed significantly but remains positive·        
*Connecticut has seen a rise in the unemployment rate even as job growth has outpaced the nation.
*Changes in federal policy have created uncertainty yet labor markets remain remarkably stable.
*Huge investments in AI have propelled top-line economic growth but have (so far) had limited effects on overall jobs picture.

Join us as our presenter, Patrick Flaherty, explores:

The Tight Labor Market Without Hiring:
How unemployment has remained relatively low even as employers pull back on new hires.

Industry Winners and Losers:
Which Connecticut sectors are still adding jobs and which have stalled, and how this compares to national patterns.

The Wage-Inflation Balance:
Are workers finally seeing real wage gains?  How does Connecticut compare to the nation?

Demographics and the "New Normal":
How population aging and labor force participation trends are reshaping what "full employment" means.


OUR PRESENTER

Patrick Flaherty is the Director of the Office of Research and Information at the Connecticut Department of Labor, Connecticut’s Labor Market Information shop and the Data Integration Hub for DataLinkCT (formerly P20WIN), Connecticut’s State LongitudinalData System.

He is also Adjunct Faculty at UConn where he teaches Principles of Microeconomics at UConn/Hartford.  Patrick is the Labor Commissioner’s designee on the Connecticut Retirement Security Program (MyCTSavings) and is the New England representative on the Local Employment Dynamics Steering Committee.