In a report from the University of Connecticut, economists argue that the unemployment rate of Connecticut would be about 2.5% higher had people not quit looking for work. The trend is one seen across the U.S. in many states, and even at the national level. The unemployment rate continues to decline, yet so does workforce participation. The report continues to explain that job growth is often dependent on increasing economic demand outpacing increases in worker productivity, and so for states like Connecticut which have strong manufacturing sectors, productivity growth has been high and thus job growth has remained low. Connecticut has only gained back approximately half of the 120,000 jobs lost during the Great Recession.
See "State?s jobless rate would be 10 percent if those who stopped looking were included, report says", Lee Howard, The Day, December 22, 2013