Colorado Employment Situation – August 2022

Household survey data:

According to the survey of households, Colorado’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased one-tenth of a percentage point in August to 3.4 percent. The number of unemployed individuals rose by 4,600 over the same time period to 112,000. The national unemployment rate edged upward by two-tenths of a percentage point to 3.7 percent, which translates to approximately 6.0 million unemployed.

Colorado’s labor force grew by 7,700 in August to 3,258,000. The share of Coloradans participating in the labor force improved to 69.6 percent last month, matching the rate it was in March 2020. The U.S. labor force participation rate was 62.4 percent in August, moving up three-tenths of a percentage point from the month prior.

The number of individuals employed in Colorado increased by 3,200 in August to 3,146,000, which represents 67.2 percent of the state’s 16+ population, unchanged from the month prior. Colorado’s employment-to-population ratio is at its highest level since January 2009, which was 67.3 percent. The national employment-to-population ratio was 60.1 percent in August and remains below its February 2020 level of 61.2 percent.

Since May 2020, Colorado’s private sector has grown by 431,300 jobs, compared to declines of 358,800 in early 2020. That translates to a job recovery rate of 120.2 percent and outpaces the U.S. rate of 104.2 percent.

These are the unemployment rates for several counties in southeast Colorado: