Connecticut added an estimated 3,300 jobs in June, according to data released Thursday by the state Department of Labor — extending a recent run of expanding employment in the state.

Last month's jobs uptick represented Connecticut's sixth-consecutive month of increasing employment, with the state adding an average of about 3,000 jobs per month in the first half of 2024. Factoring in those gains, the data shows the state has recovered about 105 percent of the approximately 291,000 non-agricultural jobs that it lost as a result of pandemic-sparked shutdowns during the spring of 2020.

At the same time, unemployment remains low. Connecticut's jobless rate ticked down to 3.9 percent in June, compared with 4.3 percent in May. In June, the national unemployment rate ran at 4.1 percent.

"With six consecutive months of job growth, private sector payroll has reached a new high and put Connecticut in a strong position going into the second half of 2024," Department of Labor Commissioner Danté Bartolomeo said in a written statement. "The state's economy remains steady and stable with sustainable growth across a broad range of industries, a low unemployment rate, and good opportunities for job seekers."

Last month, Connecticut recorded an estimated total of approximately 1.714 million payroll jobs — about 12,000 positions, or 0.7 percent higher than in June 2023. The state's uptick compared with a national increase of 1.7 percent during the same period.

While private-sector employment in Connecticut is at a record level, the state still needs to add about 7,000 positions to equal the approximately 1.72 million payroll jobs that it had across the private and public sectors in March 2008. That total marked the state's all-time employment peak.

Amid the overall jobs increase, growth rates vary among the main industries in Connecticut. Based on their estimated totals for last month, the 10 major sectors in the state have recorded the following changes in employment levels in the past year, compared with the total number of jobs in June 2023, on a percentage basis:

— Construction: 1.5 percent

— Manufacturing: 0.1 percent

—Trade, transportation and utilities: -0.5 percent

— Information: -4.8 percent

— Financial activities: 0.5 percent

— Professional and business services: -1.0 percent

— Education and health services: 2.5 percent

— Leisure and hospitality: 2.3 percent

— Other services: 0.8 percent

— Government: 1.1 percent

On a month-over-month basis, six sectors are estimated to have gained jobs or had unchanged job levels in June. Four sectors are estimated to have lost jobs last month.

Fred Carstensen, an economist at the University of Connecticut, is concerned by the recent jobs decline in the information sector. He has called for state officials to make the development of information-technology infrastructure a higher priority.

"The loss of jobs in the information sector is of special importance, given the rapidly growing ... digital economy and the surge of investment in AI. Connecticut is poorly positioned to participate in this dynamic, with a small IT infrastructure," Carstensen said on Thursday. "This highlights the critical competitive importance of the state addressing this specific weakness ... to ensure a stronger future economic trajectory."

The monthly estimates of employment levels are based on surveys of businesses, while the unemployment rate and labor force estimates are derived from household surveys.

Every month, the Department of Labor issues revised jobs numbers that incorporate the initial survey responses, as well as any employer responses that arrive after the deadline. For May, the originally estimated gain of 4,700 jobs was adjusted to an increase of 4,100.

Despite the job gains of the past few months, Connecticut is still grappling with labor shortages. There were about 90,000 available jobs across the state last month, according to the Department of Labor.

The state's estimated labor force, which includes workers and unemployed people looking for work, declined on a month-over-month basis for the first time this year. The labor force totaled about 1.913 million people last month. The number was about 21,000 higher than in June 2023, but trailed the total of approximately 1.931 million in February 2020, the last full month before the state recorded a COVID-19 case.

"We must embrace solutions that will connect the more than 74,000 people looking for work with the state's 90,000 job openings, Chris DiPentima, CEO and president of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association, said in a statement. "As we are reminded by CNBC's just-released America's Top States for Business rankings, Connecticut's high cost of living and high cost of doing business hamper us from growing the population and unlocking our state's full economic potential. It's critical that policymakers in Connecticut keep their focus on maintaining and accelerating this pace of job growth, lowering the cost of living and making Connecticut a more affordable and attractive place to do business — solutions for which exist in CBIA's 2024 Transform Connecticut policy solutions."