Colorado jobs market remained healthy in June, unemployment flat

DENVER — Colorado is in the midst of the longest sub-3% unemployment rate streak of the past five years.

The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained flat from May to June at 2.8%, according to figures released Friday by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.

“June marks the 14th straight month that the state’s unemployment rate has been below 3%,” CDLE principal economist Ryan Gedney said. “That is the longest such streak since the 17-month period spanning late 2016 to early 2018.”

Nationally, the jobless rate fell from 3.7% to 3.6% between May and June.

The non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose in June in all four counties in the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado, but Gedney said that shouldn’t be a major concern. 

Boulder County’s rate rose to 3.1% from 2.5% in May; Broomfield County 3.2% from 2.7%, Larimer County 3% from 3.4%; and Weld County 3.5% from 2.9%.

“This is pretty typical at this point in the year” when the jobless rate isn’t adjusted for the season, Gedney said.

CLDE expects to release seasonally adjusted data for Colorado’s metropolitan areas, which include Boulder, Greeley and Fort Collins, in the coming weeks. 

The Centennial State’s job participation rate was flat month-over-month at 68.7% in June, besting the national rate of 62.6%, also flat in June. 

Over the year, the average workweek for all Colorado employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased from 33.2 to 33.3 hours, while average hourly earnings grew from $34.23 to $35.27, ahead of the national average of $33.58, according to CDLE.