Colorado Employment Situation – January 2021

32,000 Nonfarm Payroll Jobs Added in January; Unemployment Rate Falls to 6.6%

Household survey data

According to the survey of households, Colorado’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased in January to 6.6 percent from the revised December rate of 6.9 percent. The national unemployment rate dropped by four-tenths of a percentage point from December to 6.3 percent.

Other highlights from the household survey:

Colorado’s labor force grew by 6,700 in January to 3,183,200. The labor force participation rate increased by one-tenth of a percentage point to 68.6 percent.

The number of individuals employed in Colorado increased by 15,000 in January to 2,972,300, which represents 64.0 percent of the state’s 16+ population.

The Colorado counties with the highest unemployment rates in January were: Huerfano (9.8%), Pueblo (9.3%), Gilpin (8.1%), Fremont (8.1%), Las Animas (7.9%), and Mesa (7.9%). County-level unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted and are directly comparable to Colorado’s January unadjusted rate of 6.9 percent.

Establishment survey data

Nonfarm payroll jobs in Colorado rose by 32,000 from December to January for a total of 2,658,700 jobs, according to the survey of business establishments. Private sector payroll jobs increased by 28,400, while government added 3,600 jobs. Colorado has gained back 215,500 of the 375,800 nonfarm payroll jobs lost between February and April. That translates to a job recovery rate of 57.3 percent, which exceeds the U.S. rate of 55.8 percent.

Other highlights from the establishment survey:

Private industry sectors with significant job gains in January were: leisure and hospitality (~21,200), professional and business services (~4,200), financial activities (~1,800), and trade, transportation, and utilities (~1,200). There were no significant over the month private sector job losses.

Since January 2020, nonfarm payroll jobs have decreased 160,800, with losses totaling 135,900 in the private sector and 24,900 in government. The largest private sector job losses were in leisure and hospitality (~81,100), education and health services (~16,300), and other services (~8,400), and Colorado’s rate of job loss over the past year is -5.7 percent, compared to the U.S. rate of -6.3 percent.

Over the year, the average workweek for all Colorado employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased from 33.0 to 33.6 hours, while average hourly earnings rose from $30.73 to $31.05, over a dollar and ten cents more than the national average hourly earnings of $29.94.