"While the second month of job declines is disappointing, the details reveal underlying resilience in the economy” said Patrick Flaherty, Acting Director of the Office of Research at the Connecticut Department of Labor. "The largest December declines were in industries directly affected by the COVID 19 pandemic such as accommodation and food service. On the other hand, manufacturing, construction and finance each increased in December."

The employed are all persons who did any work as paid employees or in their own business during the survey week, or who have worked 15 hours or more as unpaid workers in an enterprise operated by a family member. Persons temporarily absent from a job because of illness, bad weather, strike or for personal reasons are also counted as employed whether they were paid by their employer or were seeking other jobs.

The unemployed are all persons who did not work, but were available for work during the survey week (except for temporary illness) and made specific efforts to find a job in the prior four weeks. Persons waiting to be recalled to a job from which they had been laid off need not be looking for work to be classified as unemployed.