Wages, unemployment up in Northern Colorado

Growth in Northern Colorado’s average weekly wage outpaced the state and the nation, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

For the second quarter of 2007, Larimer County saw an increase of 5 percent in the average weekly wage compared with the same period last year, reporting $720 as the average. Weld County reported an average weekly wage of $692 — up 6.8 percent from the previous year.

Weld County’s increase ranks it at No. 20 out of the nation’s 329 largest counties. The only Colorado county that saw a larger year-over-year increase in wages was Douglas, with an 8.2 percent increase.

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Northern Colorado’s growth in average weekly wages was higher than that of the state or the nation, but the region’s actual average wage is still lower. For Colorado, the average weekly wage is $832, up 4.8 percent from the previous year. The highest average weekly wages were seen in Denver County, with  $989 and Boulder County, with $972.

Nationally, the average weekly wage for the second quarter was $820, up 4.6 percent compared with the previous year.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics also recently released state unemployment data for December. Colorado’s unemployment rate increased from 4.0 percent in November to 4.5 percent in December. Year-over-year, the state’s unemployment rate is up a half of a percentage point. Nationally, the unemployment rate in December was 5 percent.

Northern Colorado’s December unemployment numbers reflected the state and national trend, according to the latest figures from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. The Greeley metropolitan statistical area, which includes most of Weld County, saw unemployment increase to 4.6 percent — up from 4.1 percent in November and 4.2 percent in December 2006.

The Fort Collins-Loveland MSA also saw an increase. In December the unemployment rate was 3.8 percent, up from 3.4 percent in November and 3.5 percent last year.