What’s Working: Colorado’s job growth ahead of US but unemployment rate rises to 4.1%

If it feels like it’s getting tough to find a new job, join the growing number of unemployed workers in Colorado. Last month, the number grew to 134,700, which pushed the state’s unemployment rate up one-tenth of a percentage point to 4.1% from September.

It was the first time since January 2022 that the state’s unemployment rate wasn’t lower than the U.S., which was unchanged at 4.1%. What gives?

“The overall trend speaks to a general softening in the labor market, which was expected after the rapid recovery post pandemic, and amidst a relatively high interest rate environment,” said Monicque Aragon, a senior economist for the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, in an email. “However, the rates for both the U.S. and Colorado are still well below historical averages.”

In fact, Colorado’s job creation numbers swelled to 9,000 in October, according to the state’s latest jobs data. While monthly numbers tend to get revised regularly, that’s a big number compared to how the U.S. fared: The nation added a net of 12,000 jobs for the month, which may seem like Colorado created 75% of them.

Not really, said Cole Anderson, a research analyst with the conservative-leaning think tank Common Sense Institute in Greenwood Village, who pointed out the gain.

“(The) 9,000 additional jobs is certainly a good month for Colorado but the primary reason it stands out this month is because of the significant losses in states like Florida, Washington, Maryland and North Carolina which collectively lost around 88,000,” Anderson said in an email. “These states were hit with natural disasters and significant strikes and layoffs. Texas, New York and California also saw losses of 27,000 jobs collectively.”

Colorado’s job growth last month was credited to strong growth in the leisure and hospitality market, business and professional services, and trade industries. Employers also added more jobs in September than originally noted, with data revised up by 1,100 as more employers turned in their surveys. That brings the state’s average to 4,400 jobs created per month for the past year and annual job growth to 2%, which was higher than the U.S. rate of 1.4%.

More Colorado highlights:

• Colorado worker pay rises again. Average hourly earnings increased 5.2% from a year ago to $38.30, which was 8% higher than the national average of $35.46. Adjusted for inflation, Colorado workers have seen a 3.5% increase in pay.
• But working less. Workers shaved 42 minutes off their typical work week to average 33.3 hours. That could be due to an increase in part-time jobs and workers not getting the hours they’d like. The number of folks who consider themselves involuntary part-time workers is up to 3.2% of the state’s labor force, compared to 2.6% a year ago.
• “Prime” age group is working more than ever. Approximately 87% of Colorado workers between 25 and 54 years old, which is considered prime working age, are in the workforce. That’s the highest it’s been since at least 2021. Nationwide, that rate drops to 83.6%.
• Metro area employment rates went up everywhere. No wonder the state’s unemployment rate ticked up again. Here are the not-seasonally adjusted rates by metro area for October, compared to September:
  • Boulder, 4.1%, up from 3.8%
  • Colorado Springs, 4.5%, up from 4.2%
  • Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, 4.5%, up from 4.1%
  • Fort Collins, 3.9%, up from 3.7%
  • Grand Junction, 4.4%, up from 4.2%
  • Greeley, 4.5%, up from 4.2%
  • Pueblo, 5.8%, up from 5.5%

>> View October job report

Related:

➔ UPS will temporarily close local hub, layoff 400 in order to add AI, robotics. The mail-delivery service warned state labor officials last week that the company will temporarily close its hub at 5190 Ivy St. in Commerce City and lay off 404 workers by Jan. 15. The facility will become part of its “Network of the Future” initiative, which will add robotics and artificial intelligence to “automate routine tasks such as sorting, loading and unloading packages,” according to an earlier news report. UPS hopes to move affected workers to other jobs, upgrade the site and reopen in 2026, a spokesperson said in an email, adding, “we are still hiring for seasonal jobs in the area” that start at $21 an hour.

Colorado quarterly employment data suspended

The deep dive into employee counts and wages came and went for the U.S. this week with the second quarter Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages report. But missing was Colorado, with a note that said the state’s stats were suspended “because of data quality issues” linked to “modernization,” or a technical upgrade, to its unemployment insurance system.

Last year, the much-needed upgrade to the system that employers report staff and wages to figure out unemployment insurance premiums had Colorado losing 72,700 jobs instead of adding any. State officials said the cause was still under investigation earlier this month.

On Friday, Cher Haavind, the state labor department’s deputy executive director, said that while the root cause hasn’t been determined, responses have improved. Before the upgrade, the report had a 90% response rate from employers. After the upgrade, it dropped to 28%. But as of first quarter 2024, it’s at 85.9%.

“While the start of the irregularities were first identified in Q3 2023 when we modernized our UI system for employer reporting, we are starting to see improvement in employer reporting,” Haavind said in an email.

>> Catch up

Sun economy stories you may have missed

➔ Colorado hits the top 10 in the country’s $1.2 trillion outdoor recreation economy. The Bureau of Economic Analysis counted 132,594 outdoor recreation workers in Colorado in 2023, each averaging $65,000 a year. >> Read story

➔ Xcel runs out of EV rebates in bad news/good news for Colorado culture and economic switch. Some customers are stuck without checks, but dealers are happy about the boost in electric vehicle sales >> Read story

➔ Union at homeless youth nonprofit Urban Peak achieves elusive first contract. Even local Starbucks workers aren’t there yet. >> Read story

➔ Colorado marijuana sales — and tax dollars — are still falling. The rise of intoxicating hemp may be to blame. >> Read story

➔ Did Middle Park sell $1 billion of water for 10 bucks? The water conservancy district gave away rights to build a dam with 20,000 acre-feet of water to a private ranch. >> Read story

➔ Alterra finalizes acquisition of Arapahoe Basin after antitrust review. The $105 million deal, which was first announced in February, closed after an investigation from the Department of Justice >> Read story

➔ Denver’s convention industry is meeting like it’s 2019. And 2025 is expected to be even busier, as outsider interest in visiting Denver returns. But some wonder, could recovery have been faster? >> Read story

Other working bits

➔ 10 Colorado companies make Deloitte’s “Fast 500” list. To get on the list, companies had to share revenue growth between 2020 to 2023 with the business services company. Colorado’s 10 companies that made Deloitte’s North America Technology Fast 500 list increased revenues by 221% to 1178% in the three-year period. New York-based TG Therapeutics Inc., a life science firm working on treatments for autoimmune diseases, topped the entire list with 153,625% revenue growth. The Colorado list from 2024 Technology Fast 500:

➔ More middle-income Denverites can afford a house, Zillow says. Based on Denver’s median income of $108,797, middle-income earners can afford 22.9% of houses listed for sale in October, up from 17.2% in May. Zillow defines affordability as the ability to put a 20% down payment and spend no more than 30% of income on the monthly mortgage. Ten cities nationwide were considered so affordable that more than half of mid-income earners could afford to buy a house for sale, led by Pittsburgh, with a 72.1% affordability rate. Denver prices are still out of reach for most though. The metro area’s for-sale market led the nation for price cuts in October, at 35.8% (see the chart). >> Zillow’s report

➔ Arapahoe Basin Ski Patrol files to unionize. Approximately 58 full-time and part-time ski patrollers are seeking improved working conditions, better pay and a seat at the table, according to a news release and Nov. 18 filing with the National Labor Relations Board. They’re working with Communications Workers of America and are following the lead of other ski patrollers in Colorado.

Got some economic news or business bits Coloradans should know? Tell us: cosun.co/heyww

Get heard: The Thanksgiving poll

If you missed this, we want to hear about what it costs to do Thanksgiving this year. Take the latest What’s Working poll to help us better understand what’s going on in Colorado.

➔ Take the poll >> cosun.co/WWtday

Thanks for sticking with me for this week’s report. What’s Working will be taking the holiday off next week but watch for a special-Thanksgiving edition newsletter Monday. This week was just too full to fit the annual turkey report and all the trimmings. A hint at what’s coming? Our cost to cook a meal for 10 went … up. Again.

As always, share your 2 cents on how the economy is keeping you down or helping you up at cosun.co/heyww. ~ tamara

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What’s Working is a Colorado Sun column about surviving in today’s economy. Email tamara@coloradosun.com with stories, tips or questions. Read the archive, ask a question at cosun.co/heyww and don’t miss the next one by signing up at coloradosun.com/getww.

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