Colorado’s unemployment rate inched up one-tenth of a percentage point to 5.1 percent last month as the ambling economy logged job gains in the financial services sector that were largely offset by losses in professional services.
State labor officials said Friday that the uptick was due to adjustments for the changing seasons, such as a reduction in the demand for landscaping services.
“We are seeing the usual pattern of summer activities winding down as school starts, coupled with stable unemployment rates,” Rick Grice, department executive director, said in a statement.
The unemployment rate matched the 5.1 percent rate logged nationally last month. On a state level, it compared with a 5 percent unemployment rate in August and 5.4 percent rate in September 2004.
The number of people in the workforce continued to hover around the peaks of 2000 before the high-tech bust sent Colorado’s economy into a recession, state labor economist Joe Winter said.
The workforce totaled 2.23 million, up 46,700 from September 2004 based on seasonally adjusted figures from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.
Five of the 11 industry sectors reported job declines, with the steepest loss of 1,200 occurring in the professional and business services division.
The biggest increase – 1,700 jobs – came in the financial services sector, followed by gains in construction and trade, transportation and utilities.
