ORANGE, CT — The unemployment rate in Orange stood at 4.3 percent in July, according to data released this week by the Connecticut Department of Labor, as the town's local labor market continued to track a statewide trend of unemployment running well above the national rate.
The town figure, which is not seasonally adjusted, comes from the department's Local Area Unemployment Statistics program. Of Orange's estimated labor force of 7,322 residents in July, 7,005 were employed and 317 were unemployed, the data show.
State Jobless Rate Holds Steady, Well Above a Year Ago
Connecticut's statewide unemployment rate held at 5.2 percent in July, unchanged from June, the Department of Labor reported August 20. That is a seasonally adjusted figure calculated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics under the Local Area Unemployment Statistics program. A year earlier, in July 2025, the state's rate was 3.9 percent, meaning Connecticut's jobless rate has climbed one and three-tenths of a percentage point over the past 12 months.
On a not-seasonally-adjusted basis, the statewide rate was higher, at 5.8 percent, out of a labor force of 1,909,300 residents. Of that total, 1,799,200 were employed and 110,100 were unemployed, according to the department.
Even as the unemployment rate rose, the state's nonfarm payrolls kept growing. Connecticut employers added 2,800 jobs in July, an increase of 0.2 percent, bringing total nonfarm employment to 1,730,500, a preliminary estimate the department said marks a new all-time high for the state. Over the year, nonfarm employment is up 13,800 jobs, or 0.8 percent.
Private sector employment rose by 3,000 jobs in July, a 0.2 percent increase, and is up 15,500 jobs, or 1.0 percent, over the year, the department said. The government sector lost 200 jobs in July and is down 1,700 positions, or 0.7 percent, over the year, driven in part by federal job losses. Federal government employment in Connecticut is down 900 jobs, or 5.0 percent, from a year ago, according to the department.
Five of the state's 10 major industry sectors added jobs in July, led by education and health services, which gained 2,500 positions, followed by professional and business services, up 1,100. Five sectors lost jobs, led by trade, transportation and utilities, which fell by 1,100 positions.
"Job growth has outpaced the nation so far in 2026, with health care and social assistance and manufacturing adding the most jobs this year to date," Patrick Flaherty, director of the Office of Research at the Connecticut Department of Labor, said in a statement. "The unemployment rate is higher than it was a year ago, but layoffs are not. New entrants into the labor force are taking longer to find work than they did a year ago even as payroll jobs are increasing."
Connecticut Rate Above the U.S. Rate for Seventh Straight Month
Connecticut's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 5.2 percent in July was more than a full percentage point above the national rate of 4.1 percent, according to the state labor department, marking the seventh consecutive month the state's rate has exceeded the U.S. figure.
The national rate fell slightly in July, down one-tenth of a percentage point from June's 4.2 percent and down two-tenths of a percentage point from July 2025's 4.3 percent, according to BLS data cited by the state.
The gap has widened over the course of 2026. In January, Connecticut's rate stood at 4.5 percent against a national rate of 4.3 percent, a difference of two-tenths of a percentage point. By July, that gap had grown to 1.1 percentage points, state data show.
A year earlier, in July 2025, Connecticut's rate of 3.9 percent was slightly below the national rate of 4.3 percent.
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