DENVER — Colorado’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.5% in May 2022, the lowest since February 2020, according to new data released Friday by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.

That dropped the state below the national average of 3.6%, the first time since October 2021 that Colorado has had a lower unemployment rate than the nation at large. 

Labor-force participation in Colorado increased to 69.4%, the highest since March 2020 and the first time since 2012 that it has topped 69% for consecutive months. 

Colorado’s private sector added 5,200 jobs during the month. It has grown by 414,000 jobs since May 2020, good for a job recovery rate of 115.4%. That outpaces the national rate of 99%. The private-sector industries with the highest gains in May were professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and manufacturing. 

Around the state, the unemployment rate in Boulder County remained unchanged at 2.4%.

In Broomfield County, unemployment fell from 2.5% to 2.4%.

Larimer County also experienced a slight decrease in unemployment, from 2.7% to 2.6%. 

And in Weld County, the rate dropped from 3.4% to 3.3%.