Connecticut is slowly becoming the state where jobs go to die, according to new data released this week by the state Department of Labor.

While that assessment might sound a bit harsh, the state finished 2016 with 2,000 fewer nonfarm jobs - 1,678,000 - than it had at the end of 2015 - 1,680,000. The Hartford Courant writes that the state hasn't ended a year with fewer jobs than it began since 2009. Despite the drop in the number of jobs, half of which can be attributed to massive layoffs in state government, Connecticut's unemployment rate also dropped from 4.7 percent to 4.4 percent, an anomaly that can be explained by various factors, said Andy Condon, Director of the Office of Research, in a statement.

"Connecticut's December employment numbers continued the recent trend of mixed signals from the two monthly employment series produced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While we do not yet have supporting data, a combination of tight labor markets, an aging workforce, increased self-employment and growing out-of-state commuting could explain slowing job growth and rapidly declining unemployment rates." Also contributing to the mixed employment figures is the fact that Connecticut's population also shrank by more than 8,200 residents from 2015 to 2016, economist Don Klepper-Smith told The Connecticut Mirror. He stressed that the state is now at point where it must make tough fiscal decisions to better live within its means, or face trouble.

