Unemployment rate drops in area, state

DENVER – The local and state unemployment rates dropped in September, with the Colorado rate falling two tenths of a percentage point to 8 percent, according to a report issued Friday by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.

The not-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Boulder County dropped as well, falling to 5.7 percent in September from 6.1 percent in August and 5.9 percent in September 2011.

Broomfield County posted a smaller drop, with the rate falling one tenth of a percentage point in September to 7 percent. In September 2011, unemployment in Broomfield was 7.2 percent.

In Colorado in September 2011, the unemployment rate was 8.2 percent.

The national unemployment stats remained better than Colorado’s. The U.S. rate in September decreased three tenths of a percentage point in the same period to 7.8 percent and fell from 9 percent in September 2011.

The unemployment rate is determined by a telephone survey of households. A survey of businesses, which surveys seven times the number of respondents as the household survey, found that nonfarm payroll jobs increased by 7,000 during the month. According to the report, 37,300 jobs have been added in Colorado in the past year.

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