Purchasing managers job market in Connecticut

Industry trends, wages and hiring signals.

The headline

Industry employment fell while average weekly industry wages rose

A data-driven view of the industries that employ Purchasing managers in Connecticut.

Verified QCEW 2026 Q1January to March 2026 · State coverage 94.91% · BLS QCEWCitationEvidence record

Occupation pay

What Purchasing managers earn in Connecticut

BLS OEWS occupation-level pay estimates for this role — separate from the industry wage trends used elsewhere in this report.

BLS OEWS source

Median annual wage

$138,680Connecticut
Middle 50% of published wages
$119,510 – $175,680
U.S. median annual wage
$148,080
Reference period
May 2025

The middle 50% is the 25th-to-75th percentile wage range, not an experience-level band. Suppressed or unavailable BLS values remain unpublished rather than being estimated.

Pay around Connecticut

How median pay varies by metro area

Published BLS OEWS metro estimates for Purchasing managers, compared with the Connecticut median of $138,680.

Connecticut median$138,680
Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT$167,860+21.0% vs. state
Middle 50%$128,630 – $210,260Published employment370
Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT$167,220+20.6% vs. state
Middle 50%$125,890 – $205,700Published employment70
New Haven, CT$134,810−2.8% vs. state
Middle 50%$119,150 – $169,340Published employment190
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT$133,660−3.6% vs. state
Middle 50%$122,800 – $174,310Published employment580
Waterbury-Shelton, CT$124,290−10.4% vs. state
Middle 50%$103,570 – $160,200Published employment120

Areas are ordered by published median wage for readability, not as an overall job-market ranking. The vertical marker is the Connecticut median. Some BLS metropolitan areas cross state lines, so a metro estimate can cover workers in more than one state.

Verified snapshot

Market at a Glance

Key changes in Connecticut’s weighted industry mix.

-1.3%Industry employmentConnecticut industry employmentU.S. -1.1%vs. -1.1% U.S.
-0.3%Establishments in weighted industriesConnecticut establishments in weighted industriesU.S. +1.7%vs. +1.7% U.S.
+4.8%Avg. weekly industry wageConnecticut avg. weekly industry wageU.S. +4.4% · not occupation payvs. +4.4% U.S. · not occupation pay
-0.2 ppGap vs. U.S. industry employmentState minus U.S. industry employment change

Percentage-point gaps use the original published values and are rounded once; subtracting the rounded percentages can give a slightly different result.

Published coverage: 92,102 represented establishments, 85.21% of the published industry mix.

Local research

What the data shows for purchasing managers in Connecticut

Findings describe the published observation periods shown below. Research published Oct 11, 2026.

The highest-paying metro has a smaller employment market

Among 5 comparable metro estimates associated with Connecticut in OEWS May 2025, the pay leader and employment-size leader differ. Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT has the highest median annual pay at $167,860, with estimated employment of 370. Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT has the largest employment estimate at 580, with median pay of $133,660. The pay leader's median is 25.6% higher; estimated employment describes existing jobs, not available vacancies.

OEWS May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Some metro estimates cross state lines. Higher nominal pay does not establish better living standards or better chances of finding a job.

This occupation is more concentrated in the state

OEWS May 2025 places Connecticut's share of employment in purchasing managers at 1.54 times the corresponding national share. The published location quotient expresses that comparison. The state estimate is 1,420 jobs, 1.7% of the national employment estimate for this occupation. It represents 0.83 jobs per thousand jobs in the state's OEWS employment universe. Employment concentration does not establish future growth; it describes employment share, not current hiring.

OEWS May 2025 · BLS OEWS

OEWS employment estimates describe covered wage-and-salary jobs and exclude self-employed workers; location quotients do not measure vacancies or worker demand.

Industry groups are pulling in opposite directions

The leading industry groups for this occupation show a split in Connecticut. In January to March 2026, Private education and health services employment changed +1.8% year over year, while Federal changed -5.5%. Together, the groups examined cover 89.5% of the occupation's national industry mix. The overall industry measure combines these opposing movements.

January to March 2026 · BLS QCEW

Published median pay is below the U.S. median

Connecticut's published median annual wage for purchasing managers is 6.3% below the national median in OEWS May 2025. The state estimate is $138,680, compared with $148,080 across the U.S. These medians are not adjusted for living costs and do not describe every worker.

OEWS May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Industry measures describe the industries associated with this occupation. They are not direct occupation employment, current openings or a state-level Job Market Health score. Findings describe published data and do not establish causes. Methodology

Employment trends

Year-over-year change in the weighted industries. The U.S. line is the latest-quarter benchmark because a comparable national quarterly history is not published here.

Latest published values
  • Connecticut · 2026 Q1-1.3%
  • U.S. · latest-quarter benchmark-1.1%

The chart will load automatically. Published values remain available in this report.

View every published value
Quarterly Connecticut industry employment changes and coverage
QuarterConnecticutCoverage
2024 Q2+0.2%100%
2024 Q3+0.2%100%
2024 Q40.0%98.82%
2025 Q1-0.2%94.91%
2025 Q2-0.4%100%
2025 Q3-0.8%100%
2025 Q4-0.9%98.82%
2026 Q1-1.3%94.91%

How to read this chart

State trend and national reference

The solid line follows Connecticut’s published year-over-year industry employment changes by quarter. The dashed U.S. line is a latest-quarter reference, not a second time series.

Published quarters
8
Earliest quarter
2024 Q2
Latest quarter
2026 Q1
U.S. benchmark
-1.1%

Quarters with no published value are omitted rather than interpolated.

Industry context

Where Purchasing managers Work

The occupation mix determines which Connecticut industries are weighted into this view.

Industries weighted into the Connecticut Purchasing managers context
Industry groupOccupation mixEmployment changeEstablishmentsAvg. weekly industry wage
Professional and business services29.7%-0.8%35,252$2,826
Manufacturing23.6%-1.5%4,370$2,359
Trade, transportation, and utilities17.3%-1.7%25,279$1,462
Federal7.9%-5.5%592$2,087
Private education and health services6.1%+1.8%26,609$1,337
State and local5.1%-0.4%2,794$1,462

Which industries are growing?

One weighted industry is growing

Only weighted industries with a published positive Connecticut employment change are listed.

  • Private education and health services+1.8%

The remaining weighted industries published a flat or negative change in January to March 2026.

Current Connecticut context

Current Connecticut Market Signals

Statewide indicators for all occupations in Connecticut. They are not Purchasing managers demand and are not part of the Job Market Health score.

Statewide job postings

Indeed job postings · Connecticut

Recent hiring-demand context · separate from the health score

109.5Postings index · February 1, 2020 = 100Observation: Oct 23, 2026
+9.5%Versus the February 2020 baseline
-1.1%Change over about four weeksSep 25, 2026 to Oct 23, 2026

Total postings index (seasonally adjusted) by observation date · baseline 100

The chart will load automatically. Published values remain available in this report.

View values: Indeed postings index
Indeed postings index
Observation dateIndex (Feb 2020 = 100)
Jul 24, 2026108.77
Jul 31, 2026108.96
Aug 7, 2026108.71
Aug 14, 2026109.50
Aug 21, 2026109.76
Aug 28, 2026110.63
Sep 4, 2026110.45
Sep 11, 2026111.34
Sep 18, 2026111.76
Sep 25, 2026110.71
Oct 2, 2026109.34
Oct 9, 2026110.41
Oct 16, 2026109.28
Oct 23, 2026109.47

This is statewide demand across all occupations, not demand for this specific job. Postings are not a count of vacancies or hires, and Indeed does not cover the entire labor market.

Source: Indeed Hiring Lab · CC BY 4.0. Seven-day average, seasonally adjusted; publisher refreshes weekly and may revise history. Retrieved Nov 1, 2026 · saved source copy. JobMarketHealth calculates the displayed changes and samples weekly observations for the chart.

Explore states and career fields · Methodology and limits

Statewide layoff notices

Statewide layoff-notice filings

Connecticut statewide

6 notices in this source

Notice dates from Aug 4, 2026 to Nov 1, 2026 (UTC), a rolling 90-calendar-day period.

What this means: These are statewide totals from notices dated in this period in Connecticut’s official tracking system. Reported positions are the counts published in those notices, not a count of people confirmed to have lost their jobs. No employer is identified.

Notices describe planned workforce changes, not confirmed job losses. Notices may be amended or withdrawn. This statewide context is not occupation-specific and does not affect the Job Market Health score. Connecticut’s state tracking system also records smaller Rapid Response events that fall below federal WARN thresholds, so it is not a list of federal WARN filings only.

Connecticut Department of Labor About WARN data

Source last checked

Career context

Related roles from the occupation’s published O*NET profile.

Questions answered by this release

Purchasing managers in Connecticut FAQs

Each answer is limited to what QCEW 2026 Q1 actually publishes for this state.

Is employment growing for Purchasing managers in Connecticut?

The available QCEW measure is not direct occupation employment. Employment across the Connecticut industries weighted to Purchasing managers changed -1.3% year over year in January to March 2026, compared with -1.1% nationwide.

Are wages for Purchasing managers rising in Connecticut?

QCEW does not publish pay for Purchasing managers in this view. Average weekly wages across the weighted industries changed +4.8% year over year; that must not be read as an occupation salary change.

How complete is this Connecticut industry view?

The three core state trends each meet the site’s coverage floor; the minimum published coverage is 94.91% of the occupation’s industry mix.

Does this page show current Purchasing managers openings?

No. QCEW measures industry employment, establishments and wages. Any postings, news or WARN figures shown here are statewide context and are not occupation-specific openings.

Methodology & sourcesQCEW 2026 Q1 · coverage 94.91% · full evidence record

Methodology & Sources

Derived by JobMarketHealth from BLS QCEW + published occupation industry mix. This is occupation-weighted industry context, not direct occupation employment and not a count of current job openings.

Occupation
Purchasing managers
SOC code
11-3061
State
Connecticut
QCEW release label
QCEW 2026 Q1
Data period
2026 Q1
State industry employment, year over year
-1.3%State data coverage 94.91%
U.S. benchmark, year over year
-1.1%
Difference from U.S. benchmark
-0.2 percentage pointsPercentage-point gaps use the original published values and are rounded once; subtracting the rounded percentages can give a slightly different result.
Establishments, year over year
-0.3%State data coverage 94.91%
Average weekly industry wage, year over year
+4.8%State data coverage 94.91%
Industry mix vintage
EP-2025-2035
BLS publication date
Aug 28, 2026
Source verification
Verified against the committed source snapshotVerified Sep 17, 2026
Canonical record URL
https://jobmarkethealth.com/occupations/purchasing-managers/connecticut#evidence-record
Derived by
JobMarketHealth from BLS QCEW + published occupation industry mix

Weighted industry conditions are not direct occupation employment, occupation wages, current openings or a state-level Job Market Health score. No causal explanation is inferred.

Purchasing managers in other states