Jobless rates decline in Boulder, Larimer, Weld counties

Unemployment rates in Boulder, Larimer and Weld counties declined from February to March, while Broomfield County’s rate held steady.

All four counties’ rates declined when compared with the same month a year ago.

Boulder County retains the lowest rate in the region at 5.1 percent, down from 5.2 in February and 5.4 a year ago. The county had 174,785 people employed and 9,345 looking for work.

Weld County maintains the highest unemployment rate regionally at 6.5 percent, with 122,278 people employed and 8,539 looking for jobs. But that rate is down 1.3 percentage points from the same month a year ago.

Larimer County had 175,273 people employed and 9,967 looking for work, for an unemployment rate of 5.4 percent, down from 5.6 percent in February and 5.8 percent last year.

Broomfield County, meanwhile, had a March rate of 6 percent, with 30,258 employed and 1,922 looking. That rate is down from 6.6 percent a year ago.

The strong local numbers came as the state’s unemployment rate ticked upward slightly to 6.2 percent in March, up from 6.1 in February, despite the state adding 3,300 nonfarm payroll jobs in March.

The national unemployment rate stayed the same in March at 6.7 percent, down from 7.5 percent last year.

Statewide, Baca County in southeastern Colorado had the lowest unemployment rate at 3 percent, while Costilla County in southern Colorado had the highest at 13.3 percent.

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