Economy & Economic Development  December 7, 2016

Weld, Larimer 2Q employment figures to be revised down

Job losses in the oil and gas industry appear to be hitting Weld County harder over the past year than previously estimated.

According to new figures released by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment on Wednesday, second-quarter job figures for Weld County are expected to be revised downward by 3,200. That would mean a 1.7 percent dip in the total number of jobs in the county from June 2015 to June 2016, rather than an increase of 1.5 percent. With the second-quarter revisions extrapolated out through October, though, Weld will still have seen a year-over-year increase of 0.3 percent.

The revised figures come from unemployment-insurance reports that employers are required to file quarterly with the state that include the number of people employed at each firm for each month of the quarter. Monthly estimates released by the state in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics are based on a survey of business establishments.

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Larimer County is also expected to see a downward revision of 3,200 jobs for the second quarter when year-end totals are tallied, while Boulder County is expected to see an upward revision of 300 jobs.

The number of total jobs in Weld County at the end of June, according to the revised figures, stood at 98,900.

Weld’s employment totals have no doubt been hurt by the downturn in the oil and gas industry over the past two years. The number of jobs in Colorado’s mining and logging sector, which includes the oil and gas industry, is expected to be revised downward by 2,900 for the second quarter to a total of 23,200. That’s down 24.5 percent from June of 2015.

Larimer’s job total at the end of June, based on the revisions, was 157,600. That’s still up 1.9 percent from the year before but not the 3.9 percent previously estimated.

Boulder’s total at the end of June now stands at 186,000 jobs, up 3.2 percent from 12 months earlier rather than 3.1 percent.

Expected revisions were released Wednesday for each of the state’s seven Metropolitan Statistical Areas. The Boulder MSA consists of Boulder County, the Fort Collins MSA Larimer County and the Greeley MSA Weld County.

Broomfield County is part of the Denver MSA, which is expected to see a downward revision of 9,600 jobs for the second quarter.

Statewide, the report projects a downward revision of 14,300 jobs. Applied through October, those new figures would place Colorado’s year-over-year job growth at the end of that month at 53,200, or 2.1 percent.

By industry, the construction sector is expected to see the largest downward revisions for the second-quarter in the state at 7,800 jobs. Leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, mining and logging, and manufacturing are also expected to see downward revisions. Trade, transportation and utilities, at 3,100 jobs, is expected to see the largest upward revisions, meanwhile, followed by the financial activities and education and health services sectors.

Job losses in the oil and gas industry appear to be hitting Weld County harder over the past year than previously estimated.

According to new figures released by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment on Wednesday, second-quarter job figures for Weld County are expected to be revised downward by 3,200. That would mean a 1.7 percent dip in the total number of jobs in the county from June 2015 to June 2016, rather than an increase of 1.5 percent. With the second-quarter revisions extrapolated out through October, though, Weld will still have seen a year-over-year increase…

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