Colorado’s unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.4 percent in October as new jobs in professional and health services countered losses in construction and finance, state economists said today.
The figure remained below the 4.9 percent state unemployment rate recorded in October 2005, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment said. It was even with last month’s national unemployment rate.
Rick Grice, the department’s executive director, said the number of employed and unemployed workers both increased slightly last month.
The total number of people in the nonagricultural work force dipped about 100 jobs to 2.28 million based on the state’s seasonally adjusted figures.
Job gains were logged by five of the 11 industry sectors, led by professional and business services, educational and health services, and leisure and hospitality. Construction and financial activities reported the highest number of job losses, according to the department’s seasonally adjusted figures.
