Colorado unemployment rate holds at 6.4% in October, minor changes at county levels

DENVER — The state’s unemployment rate was unchanged between September and October at 6.4%, according to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment Friday morning, with the counties in Northern Colorado and the Boulder Valley having no or negligible changes within their borders.

An additional 15,257 state residents joined the labor force between the months, meaning they either were actively employed or began actively seeking work.

At the county level, Larimer County and Broomfield County had no change between the months at 5.2% and 5.3%, respectively. Weld County declined by 0.1% to 6.2%; Boulder County declined from 5.3% to 5.2% during the months.

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All four of the counties reported increases in the labor force, ranging from an additional 24 available or employed people in Broomfield to an additional 3,509 people in Weld County.

None of the figures are seasonally adjusted.

CDLE senior economist Ryan Gedney said the recent slew of counties being moved to higher and more restrictive levels of the state’s COVID-19 dial likely won’t be seen in the November unemployment estimates due for release next month. The surveys that the estimates are based on are conducted on the week of the 12th of each month, which wouldn’t capture several counties being moved into levels where indoor dining is forbidden.

“If anything, we may see something in December as that may capture what we’re seeing later in November,” Gedney said.

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