Colorado private-sector employers shed 4,600 jobs from February to March, with professional and business services suffering most of the losses, labor department officials announced Tuesday.
Preliminary employment data estimates showed that Colorado recorded a net loss of 3,900 nonfarm jobs in March, when accounting for a gain of 700 government positions, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment .
The monthly data is a preliminary estimate and it’s typically revised.
The lion’s share of the declines came in the professional services sector, which lost 4,100 positions, according toBureau of Labor Statistics estimates. Job sectors such as construction, manufacturing and trade saw some month-over-month declines, while areas such as government and education added positions.
The month-over-month decline would be the first since October 2014, when 1,000 jobs were lost, said Alexandra Hall, chief economist for the state of Colorado.
The last time preliminary monthly job losses were at this level was in August 2013, when there was an initial 4,300-job decline, Hall said. That figure was later revised to an increase of 7,200 jobs.
Colorado’s 2,504,100 non-farm payroll jobs are up 67,700 from this time last year.
“We’re seeing improving labor market conditions across the state,” she said.
The state’s unemployment rate in March remained unchanged from the prior month’s 4.2 percent, officials for the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment said. The jobless rate is down 1.3 percentage points from March 2014.
Average hourly earnings increased to $26.84 from $26.39, state employment department officials said.
Noting some concern on the effect of low oil prices on the state’s energy industry, Hall said the initial indicators — payroll jobs data, unemployment insurance claims and administrative data — have not provided any definitive information.
Alicia Wallace: 303-954-1939, awallace@denverpost.com or twitter.com/aliciawallace
