Unemployment rates in Denver, Fort Collins, Boulder and Colorado Springs have reached their lowest levels since the fall of 2001, when terrorist attacks stunted the economy, according to a report Wednesday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Jobless rates dropped in May, even with an influx of students and graduates seeking work.
Statewide, Colorado’s May unemployment rate was 5.3 percent, adjusting for seasonal effects, and 5 percent unadjusted.
About 4,679 fewer people seeking work were unemployed in May statewide than in April.
During the first five months of the year, 15,100 jobs were added to nonfarm payrolls in the state, according to the bureau.
“I do appreciate that not everybody feels like recovery has begun, but it continues,” said Patty Silverstein, an economist with Development Research Partners in Littleton. “The recovery is now.”
The bureau’s numbers for May, based on household surveys, seem to back up that assertion:
Unemployment in the Denver-Aurora area fell from 5.3 percent in April to 5.1 percent, and the estimated number of unemployed declined by 2,609 in May.
In Colorado Springs, the unemployment rate fell from 5.5 percent in April to 5.3 percent in May, and the estimated number of unemployed declined by 672.
Fort Collins-Loveland’s unemployment rate declined from 4.4 percent in April to 4.2 percent in May. The estimated number of jobless declined by 242.
Boulder’s rate fell from 4.5 percent to 4.4 percent over the same period, representing an estimated 200 fewer unemployed.
On the West Slope, Grand Junction’s unemployment rate fell from 4.8 percent to 4.6 percent, contributing to an estimated decline of 193.
The May numbers aren’t seasonally adjusted, meaning they contain swings from employers hiring summer workers and students looking for summer jobs.
A key test of the job market will come this fall, after summer hires are let go, cautions U.S. Bank regional economist Tucker Hart Adams.
Ledy Garcia-Eckstein, a senior policy analyst in Denver’s Office of Economic Development, said there aren’t necessarily fewer job hunters, but better job opportunities.
Wednesday’s report is based on a survey of households, not places of employment, and doesn’t include a breakdown of where jobs are being added.
But in the Denver-Boulder area, every sector is adding jobs so far this year except one – information, Silverstein said.
Information jobs consist of telecommunications, about half the total, as well as software development and publishing.
“My initial thought was that we would see improvement by the end of 2005,” Silverstein said of that sector.
“I am pushing that recovery into 2006. The (information) industry is still dealing with excess capacity,” she said.
Construction and natural resources are leading the way with the fastest rate of job growth, followed by professional and business services and education and health services, Silverstein said.
Staff writer Aldo Svaldi can be reached at 303-820-1410 or asvaldi@denverpost.com.
