HAMDEN, CT — Figures the Connecticut Department of Labor released Monday, Oct. 19, show Hamden's September unemployment rate at 5.7 percent, compared with 5.2 percent in August. The statewide rate remained at 5.1 percent.
Hamden's Jobless Count Grows by 189 Residents
Hamden's estimated labor force numbered 33,475 residents in September, according to the state's Local Area Unemployment Statistics program. Employment totaled 31,581, while 1,894 residents were unemployed — 189 more than in August. Because the town figures are not seasonally adjusted, comparisons directly with state and national rates should be treated with caution.
Patch reported Hamden's rate was 3.9 percent in September 2025, 1.8 percentage points below this September's rate. Last year, the rate declined between August and September; this year, it increased.
Patch reported that rates were lower than Hamden's in Bethany (3.3 percent), Cheshire and Woodbridge (4.2 percent each), Wallingford (4.3 percent) and North Haven (4.4 percent). New Haven's 6 percent rate was higher. Of the state's 169 towns, 152 recorded rates below Hamden's and 13 recorded higher ones.
State Payrolls Reach a Record as Hourly Pay Trails Inflation
Connecticut employers added 1,400 jobs in September, bringing nonfarm employment to 1,731,600, which the department called a new all-time high. The department also revised its August figure to a loss of 600 jobs, rather than 300.
Education and health services added the most jobs, gaining 2,200, according to the Connecticut Department of Labor. Manufacturing employment grew by 900, while trade, transportation and utilities added 800. Professional and business services recorded the largest decline, losing 2,700 jobs. Other services shed 600, and information employment fell by 400.
The New Haven labor market area, which includes Hamden, added 400 jobs in September to reach 288,900.
The state's jobless rate has been "stable since late spring," Patrick Flaherty, who heads the Labor Department's research office, said in a statement. Average hourly earnings in the private sector were $40.06, a 2.1 percent year-over-year increase that trailed the national consumer price index's 3.7 percent rise. September's weekly average for first-time unemployment claims was 1,842, down 64.9 percent from the average a year earlier.