HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JANUARY 12, 2026 19
SURVEY
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
THE 11TH ANNUAL
Survey: HBJ readers less optimistic heading into 2026
H
ow will Connecticut's economy perform
in 2026? Will inflation and interest rates
ease meaningfully? And can busi-
nesses continue to grow amid ongoing cost
and workforce pressures?
Those questions loom large as Hartford
Business Journal readers look ahead to the
new year.
HBJ readers are noticeably less optimistic
about Connecticut's economy in 2026 than
they were a year earlier, according to the latest
Economic Forecast Survey.
In fact, 29.4% of respondents said Connecti-
cut's economy will improve slightly or signifi-
cantly this year, down sharply from 51.2% who
expected improvement in 2025. Meanwhile, the
share of respondents expecting the economy
to decline rose to 35.9%, compared with about
22% a year earlier.
Sentiment about current conditions also
deteriorated. Just 29.6% of respondents said
the economy is in better shape than it was
a year ago, compared with nearly 48% who
expressed that view in the 2025 survey. Nearly
half now say conditions are worse.
Hiring expectations softened slightly. About
34.9% of respondents plan to hire additional
staff in 2026, roughly in line with last year, but
more businesses expect flat employment, and
fewer anticipate strong workforce growth.
Labor challenges remain persistent. Nearly
52% of respondents said it is very difficult or
impossible to find qualified workers, similar to
last year, though the share expecting to raise
wages declined modestly from 52% to 48%.
Those were some of the findings from
Hartford Business Journal's 2026 economic
outlook survey, the results of which are
featured in this special pullout section.
The survey, sponsored by NBT Bank, was
emailed to more than 10,000 HBJ Today
subscribers. The unscientific results were gath-
ered over a three-week period in November and
early December, garnering 261 responses.
Of those surveyed, 80% said they work at
privately-held companies and 75% said their
business has fewer than 100 employees.
The results offer a window into business
sentiment heading into 2026.
We hope you find the survey results informa-
tive, and we wish you good luck and health in
the year ahead.
Greg Bordonaro
Editor
Hartford Business Journal
Tom Curtin | CEO, ext. 124, tcurtin@hartfordbusiness.com
Editorial
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gbordonaro@hartfordbusiness.com
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Beat: Energy
Michael Puffer | Staff Writer, ext. 145
mpuffer@hartfordbusiness.com
Beats: Real Estate, Economic Development, Banking & Finance
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davidk@hartfordbusiness.com
Beats: Health Care, Bioscience, State Government
Harriet Jones | Staff Writer, ext. 145
hjones@hartfordbusiness.com
Beats: Manufacturing, Cannabis, Professional Services
Michael Juliano | Staff Writer
mjuliano@hartfordbusiness.com
Beat: Fairfield County
Stephanie R. Meagher | Research Director
Heide Martin | Research Assistant
Steve Laschever | Photographer
Business
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tcurtin@hartfordbusiness.com
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Hartford Business Journal (ISSN 1083-5245) is published
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