Colorado’s job market showed signs of stabilizing in July, according to a report Friday from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.
The number of payroll jobs in the state rose by 5,400 in July from June on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the report. That’s the first month-over-month increase, adjusting for seasonal fluctuations, since August 2008, the month before the global credit crisis intensified.
Over the past year, employer payrolls are down by about 100,000.
The state’s unemployment rate, however, increased from 7.6 percent in June to 7.8 percent in July, the highest level since April 1987.
Unemployment can rise even when payrolls are moving higher, usually because job gains aren’t enough to keep pace with increases in the number of job seekers.
Between April and July, the unemployment rate has risen by 0.40 percentage points. From September to March, it rose by 2.5 percentage points.
The metro Denver unemployment rate reached 8 percent in July, up from 7.7 percent in June.
The month-over-month job growth and the moderation of the unemployment rate “are really positive signs that we may be approaching a bottom here,” said Alexandra Hall, the labor department’s chief economist.
Six sectors saw monthly job increases, led by construction and professional and business services.
Construction jobs, adjusted for seasonal fluctuations, rose by 1,400 between June and July, the first monthly increase in that industry since October 2007.
With residential and commercial construction still weak, federal stimulus spending on road and bridge projects is likely driving the increases, Hall said.
She is watching to see whether the big declines among temporary workers is reversing, a key signal of recovery. Professional and business services, the category that includes those workers, rose by 1,900 positions.
Government and information were flat on the month, while manufacturing, financial services, and leisure and hospitality suffered net job losses. Declines in leisure and hospitality would have been larger absent heavy hiring by casinos for the switch to 24-hour gaming.
Executive recruiter David Martin, a managing partner with MRINetwork Alpine CRS in Denver, called the July report encouraging.
“There is an increased feeling and belief that we are near the bottom of things,” he said.
Aldo Svaldi: 303-954-1410 or asvaldi@denverpost.com
