Jobless rates go below 4% in Boulder, Larimer counties

Unemployment rates in Boulder and Larimer counties dipped below 4 percent in August for the first time since May 2008.

The milestones came as the state’s unemployment rate decreased once again despite the number of private-sector payroll jobs in the state also decreasing by 700, according to the

Colorado Department of Labor and Employment’s latest jobs report released Friday.

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Boulder County’s non-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 3.8 percent in August, with 177,328 people employed and 7,043 looking for work. The county’s rate hadn’t been so low since hitting 3.7 percent in May 2008.

Larimer County, meanwhile, had a rate of 3.9 percent in August, with 179,859 employed and 7,276 seeking jobs. Larimer’s jobless rate was 3.8 percent in May 2008.

Despite the low figures, both counties still have room to improve to match 2007 unemployment levels. In May 2007, Boulder County was at 2.8 percent and Larimer at 2.9 percent.

Still, the rates are big drops from a month before. In July, both counties had rates of 4.3 percent.

Weld and Broomfield counties also experienced drops in August. Weld’s unemployment rate hit 4.7 percent, down from 5.4 percent in July. Broomfield’s rate hit 4.5 percent, down from 4.8 percent in July. All four counties’ rates in the region were down more than a full percentage point from the same time a year ago, with Weld’s unemployment rate dropping 2.1 points from 6.8 percent last year.

Colorado’s unemployment rate dipped from 5.3 percent in July to 5.1 percent in Aug. After 33 straight months of job gains for the state, Colorado reported a decrease of 700 jobs. However, Department of Labor and Employment chief economist Alexandra Hall noted that preliminary August figures have shown job declines the last five years in a row only to be adjusted upward later once more concrete data was gathered.

The national unemployment rate in August was 6.1 percent, down from 7.2 percent a year earlier.