Fort Collins, Greeley unemployment rises in November

The unemployment rates in all three of Northern Colorado’s largest cities increased slightly in November when compared to November 2011.

According to data released Friday by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, the unemployment rate in the Fort Collins-Loveland metropolitan statistical area was 6.1 percent in November, compared with 6 percent in November 2011.

In the Greeley MSA, the unemployment rate increased year-over-year from 8.2 percent in November 2011 to 8.5 percent in the same period of 2012.

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The November numbers also showed an increase from the previous month. In October, Fort Collins-Loveland showed an unemployment rate of 5.9 percent, while Greeley’s was 8.1 percent.

Statewide, Colorado’s unemployment rate declined to 7.7 percent in November, compared with 7.8 percent in October and 8 percent in November 2011.

Nonfarm payroll jobs increased by 8,000 from October to November, according to the Department of Labor. Of these, 7,000 were private-sector jobs and 1,000 were government jobs.

The decrease in unemployment was caused by a larger drop in the number of people actively participating in the labor force than the decline in the number of people reporting their status as employed.

The national unemployment rate decreased from 8.7 percent in November 2011 to 7.7 percent this November.