Connecticut lost 1,300 jobs in March, according a preliminary report released yesterday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; the state’s largest industry trade group blamed the decline on “the state legislature’s continued focus on costly workplace mandates.”

The report also revised February’s report slightly from a 400-job decline to an 400-job gain, upon further analysis. The state’s unemployment rate in March was 3.9 percent, up slightly from February.

“With the March decline of 1,300 jobs the three-month average of job growth is now negative,” Andy Condon, director of the state’s Department of Labor’s Office of Research, said in a statement. “However, annual job growth has actually improved as the first quarter of 2018 was very weak.”

Private sector employment shrank by 1,100 to 1.45 million jobs over the month in March, and remains up 7,300 seasonally-adjusted jobs over March 2018. The remaining job losses were in local, state and federal governments, tribal casinos or public higher education.

Four of the 10 major industry super-sectors gained employment in March, while five declined. The financial industry led the gainers with an increase of 700 jobs, or 0.6 percent, to 127,400 total jobs. Manufacturing was unchanged at 161,500 jobs, while the construction and mining sector led declines, dropping 900 jobs or 1.5 percent to a total of 61,200 jobs.

Connecticut Business & Industry Association economic adviser Pete Gioia said in a statement that job losses distracted from the positive factors in the state’s economy, including growing private sector collaboration and innovation.

The CBIA’s statement went on to blame the job declines on “the state legislature’s continued focus on costly workplace mandates and a reluctance to cut government spending.”

“People are reacting to these bills that will add significant costs and burdens to employers, particularly small employers across the state,” Gioia said in a statement.”How many more jobs do we have to lose before the legislature changes its direction?”

Overall, Connecticut has recovered just 80 percent of the 119,100 jobs lost in the 2008-2010 recession, the only New England state and one of just a handful of states in the country yet to reach full recovery.