Colorado Employment Situation – October 2022

17,700 Nonfarm Payroll Jobs Added in October; Unemployment Rate Rises to 3.6%

Household survey data:

According to the survey of households, Colorado’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased two-tenths of a percentage point in October to 3.6 percent. The number of unemployed individuals rose by 6,800 over the same time period to 116,400. Colorado’s unemployment rate has ranged between 3.3 and 3.6 percent since April. The national unemployment rate also moved up by two-tenths of a percentage point to 3.7 percent, which translates to approximately 6.1 million unemployed.

Colorado’s labor force increased by 1,900 in October to 3,256,900. The share of Coloradans participating in the labor force has remained steady at 69.4 percent for two consecutive months. The U.S. labor force participation rate was 62.2 percent in October, dropping one-tenth of a percentage point from the month prior.

The number of individuals employed in Colorado declined by 5,000 in October to 3,140,400, which represents 66.9 percent of the state’s 16+ population. The rate of 66.9 percent is almost two percentage points higher than a year ago and four-tenths of a percentage point higher than it was in February 2020. The national employment- to-population ratio was 60.0 percent in October and remains below its February 2020 level of 61.2 percent.

Establishment survey data:

Employers in Colorado added 17,700 nonfarm payroll jobs from September to October for a total of 2,900,800 jobs, according to the survey of business establishments. Private sector payroll jobs increased 15,400 and government added 2,300 jobs. Over the past 30 months, Colorado has added 455,700 nonfarm payroll jobs, compared to losses totaling 374,500 in March and April 2020. That translates to a job recovery rate of 121.7 percent, which exceeds the U.S. rate of 103.7 percent.

Since May 2020, Colorado’s private sector has grown by 449,500 jobs, compared to declines of 358,800 in early 2020. That translates to a job recovery rate of 125.3 percent and outpaces the U.S. rate of 106.3 percent.

The following are unemployment percentages for counties in southeast Colorado as of October 2022: