State unemployment rate holds at 6.4% from February to March

DENVER — Colorado’s unemployment rate was unchanged between February and March at 6.4%, marking a very small variance in the state’s rate during the first quarter of 2021.

The latest figures from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment show that the state’s labor force increased by an estimated 5,800, while the labor-force participation rate held steady at 68.5% and just under the pre-pandemic participation rate of 68.7%.

Approximately 5,100 residents were added to the 2,983,200 people in the state who were employed during the period.

The largest job-gaining industries were professional and business services, with approximately 3,300 jobs added, while trade, transportation and utilities added approximately 1,300 jobs, and education and health services added 1,110 jobs.

Approximately 1,100 jobs in the leisure and hospitality sector were cut in the period after gaining 9,700 positions the month prior. That industry consists of hotels, bars and restaurants and was hardest-hit by the restrictions on in-person business during the pandemic.

CDLE Senior Economist Ryan Gedney told reporters that Colorado is likely lagging behind the national unemployment rate of 6% due to its losses in the hospitality sector, along with the wind-down of ski season.

While he expects a recovery in that sector next month, Gedney said the state will likely not be in lock-step with the entire country’s rate due to Colorado’s seasonal tourism.

“I think for the first half of 2021, Colorado might be out of sync with the US and some other states and vice versa,” he said.

At the county level, Boulder County’s unemployment rate fell from 5.7% to 5.5%, while Broomfield County’s rate fell from 5.6% to 5.5%. Larimer County’s rate fell 0.2 percentage points to 5.8%, while Weld County’s rate dropped from 7% to 6.9%.

Those unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted and not comparable to the statewide unemployment rate.

Every county reported a decline in their labor-force size. Broomfield and Boulder had respective decreases of 324 and 524 people in their labor force, while Weld County and Larimer County saw their labor force fall by 1,619 and 1,725 respectively.

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