Colorado’s unemployment rate rose to 4.7% in January, according to the state Labour Department.
The Colorado Department of Labour and Employment reported that this is an increase from the seasonally adjusted rate of 4.6% in December, which had been corrected. In January, the national unemployment rate stood at 4%.
According to the Common Sense Institute, a free-market think group, the state’s unemployment rate is the highest it has been since September 2021.
“The [COVID] pandemic caused a major shock to the composition of Colorado’s job market in early 2020 and may have induced some structural changes in the long run,” CSI said in an analysis of the state’s employment data.
Employers in the state created 3,900 nonfarm jobs, bringing the total to 2,981,000. CDLE reported that 1,800 new employment were created in the business sector and 2,100 in government.
In the private sector, educational and health services created almost 2,500 jobs, professional and business services added 1,100 jobs, and manufacturing added 1,100 jobs. Construction (2,400 jobs) and leisure/hospitality (1,000 jobs) were the industries that experienced the greatest job losses.
Colorado’s unemployment rate for 2024 has also been revised up from 3.9% to 4.3%, with 33,200 nonfarm payroll jobs added.
Last November, the United States Bureau of Labour Statistics ceased release of its Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages data for Colorado, citing quality concerns with the state’s data for the second quarter of last year.
“Employment data for Colorado showed unusual movements due to ongoing issues with the modernization of the state’s unemployment insurance (UI) system,” a BLS notice said.
The federal agency begun posting state data last month.
Reference: Jobless rate rises slightly to 4.7% in Colorado
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