Colorado Employment Situation – June 2023

4,700 Nonfarm Payroll Jobs Added in June; Unemployment Rate Flat at 2.8 Percent

Household survey data:

According to the survey of households, Colorado’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was unchanged from May to June at 2.8 percent. The number of unemployed individuals grew by 1,500 over the same time period to 91,600. Colorado’s unemployment rate has been below 3.0 percent for fourteen consecutive months and remains at pre-pandemic levels. The national unemployment rate decreased one-tenth of a percentage point to 3.6 percent from May to June.

Colorado’s labor force increased by 4,500 in June to 3,249,100. The share of Coloradans participating in the labor force remained at 68.7 percent in June, identical to the month prior. The U.S. labor force participation rate was 62.6 percent in June and was unchanged from the month prior.

The number of individuals employed in Colorado rose by 3,000 in June to 3,157,500, which represents 66.8 percent of the state’s 16+ population. Colorado’s employment-population ratio of 66.8 in June was unchanged from the month prior. The national employment-population ratio was also flat in June at 60.3 percent.

Establishment survey data:

Employers in Colorado added 4,700 nonfarm payroll jobs from May to June for a total of 2,909,900 jobs, according to the survey of business establishments. Private sector payroll jobs increased by 3,300, while government added 1,400 jobs.

May estimates were revised up to 2,905,200, and the over the month change from April to May was a gain of 8,600 rather than the originally estimated increase of 3,900 (monthly revisions are based on additional responses from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates).

Private industry sectors with significant job gains in June were: leisure and hospitality (≈1,700), manufacturing (≈1,400), and professional and business services (≈1,300). Significant over the month private sector declines occurred in trade, transportation, and utilities (≈1,000).

Since June 2022, nonfarm payroll jobs have increased 42,400, with the private sector growing by 22,900 and government adding 19,500 jobs. The largest private sector job gains were in leisure and hospitality (≈25,000), professional and business services (≈9,900), and educational and health services (≈2,900). During that same period financial activities (≈9,200), trade, transportation, and utilities (≈6,500), information (≈3,500), and construction (≈1,500) payroll jobs declined. Colorado’s rate of job growth over the past year is 1.5 percent, lagging the U.S. rate of 2.5 percent.

Over the year, the average workweek for all Colorado employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased from 33.2 to 33.3 hours, while average hourly earnings grew from $34.23 to $35.27, one dollar and sixty-nine cents more than the national average hourly earnings of $33.58.

These are the unemployment percentages for southeast Colorado counties: