Connecticut gained 2,600 net jobs in January, bringing employment to a level of 1,696,100 seasonally adjusted, according to new data from the state Department of Labor. But while 2020 Connecticut job picture began on a high note, the 2019 data was revised downward.

The number of unemployed residents was estimated at 72,300, seasonally adjusted, unchanged from December. As a result, Connecticut’s January unemployment rate is at 3.7%, seasonally adjusted, down one-tenth of a percent from the revised December level.

Private sector employment grew by 2,500 (0.2%) to 1,459,600 jobs over the month in January, and are now up by 8,800 (0.6%) seasonally-adjusted jobs from January 2019. The government supersector rose adding 100 jobs in January to a total of 236,500, but remains down 1,000 jobs (-0.4%) from the previous year.

Within Fairfield County, the labor market in the Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk corridor recorded an increase of 1,500 jobs while the Danbury area recorded a gain of 100 jobs.

“January’s payroll job numbers are a good start to the year with a seasonally adjusted increase of 2,600 jobs over December 2019,” said Andy Condon, director of the Office of Research at the Connecticut Department of Labor.

However, Condon added that revised federal data regarding Connecticut’s job performance during 2019 changed the picture from growth to reduction, although the department revised the December job gain of 100 up to a new total of 1,000.

“The annual benchmark revision process conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reduced Connecticut’s 2019 payroll job estimates by six-tenths of a percent, turning a preliminary 7,400 average job gain in 2019 to a 3,300 loss,” he said.

Condon blamed the downward revision on the difficulty in growing jobs in a low unemployment rate environment and on low-to-zero population growth in the state, which fuels the low unemployment rate and limits growth of the labor force.