Colorado, regional unemployment ticks up but remains low

DENVER — The unemployment rate in July was up in Colorado and each of the four counties in the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado but remained below or near the national jobless rate. 

Colorado’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was up one-tenth of a percentage point from June to 2.9% last month. The national rate also increased one-tenth of a percentage point to 3.5% during that period, according to data released Friday by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.

“The number of unemployed individuals grew by 3,300 over the same time period to 95,000. Colorado’s unemployment rate has been below 3.0 percent for fifteen consecutive months and remains at pre-pandemic levels,” CDLE said.

In the Centennial State, the labor force participation rate was 68.7%, unchanged over the previous two months.

“The increase in Colorado’s (July unemployment) rate was due to the gain in labor force exceeding the growth in total employment, which was flat for the month,” CLDE senior economist Ryan Gedney said. 

Locally, Larimer County led the way in July with a not-seasonally-adjusted jobless rate of 3.1%, up from 3% in June. Boulder’s July and June rates were 3.3% and 3.1%, Broomfield 3.4% and 3.3%, Weld 3.6% and 3.5%.

“Over the year, the average workweek for all Colorado employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased from 33.1 to 33.5 hours, while average hourly earnings grew from $34.60 to $35.91, two dollars and seventeen cents more than the national average hourly earnings of $33.74,” according to CDLE.