Colorado’s job gains continue to taper from the robust growth enjoyed through much of the past year, but the state’s employment market is holding steady, labor department officials said Friday.
Colorado recorded a net loss of about 2,100 jobs to 2,528,400 between October and November, according to preliminary employment estimates released by the state Department of Labor and Employment.
But a separate survey of households indicates that the state’s labor force grew last month, pushing the unemployment rate farther downward to pre-recession levels.
Colorado’s unemployment rate in November dipped to 3.6 percent from and continues to sit well below the national unemployment rate of 5 percent. Colorado for its unemployment rate, which is at its lowest point since April 2007.
Not adjusted for seasonality, the state’s jobless rate climbed 0.2 percentage points to 3.5 percent.
While complementary, the two surveys — one that measures jobs by work site and the other that measures persons employed by household — can show conflicting results.
The latest estimates, which could be later revised when quarterly employment surveys are released, align with other recent observations about the health of Colorado’s economy: that the state is experiencing
Unemployment insurance claims haven’t seen a spike, employers continue to recruit, and online job postings remain at comparable levels to last year, said Alexandra Hall, the state’s chief economist.
“Prior to the last recession, job ads were dropping quite a bit before (jobs were) dropping,” she said.
There’s not much room for the unemployment rate to move lower, said Gary Horvath, an economist based in Broomfield. At this point, it should start to cause wages to rise for some skilled positions, he said.
The construction sector and leisure and hospitality industry boasted the largest month-over-month employment gains, adding 2,200 jobs and 1,000 jobs, respectively, according to seasonally adjusted data.
Professional and business services, and the financial services industries posted monthly employment declines.
Colorado recorded strong job growth in January and February, but that pace of growth has slowed since, Horvath said.
“There was hope for a reversal of this downward trend in October, when there was a significant uptick in the number of seasonally adjusted jobs,” Horvath wrote via e-mail to The Denver Post. “This proved to be an anomaly as the preliminary estimate has been revised downward and the data for November report a loss of 2,100 jobs.”
The data resulting from the surveys are preliminary and could be revised.
Alicia Wallace: 303-954-1939
