Colorado Employment Situation – July 2023

800 Nonfarm Payroll Jobs Added in July; Unemployment Rate Rises Slightly to 2.9 Percent

Household survey data:

According to the survey of households, Colorado’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased one-tenth of a percentage point in July to 2.9 percent compared to the June rate of 2.8 percent. The number of unemployed individuals grew by 3,300 over the same time period to 95,000. Colorado’s unemployment rate has been below 3.0 percent for fifteen consecutive months and remains at pre-pandemic levels. The national unemployment rate decreased one-tenth of a percentage point to 3.5 percent from June to July.

Colorado’s labor force increased by 3,400 in July to 3,252,500. The share of Coloradans participating in the labor force remained at 68.7 percent in July, identical to the two months prior. The U.S. labor force participation rate was 62.6 percent in July and has remained at that level for five straight months.

Due to rounding, the number of individuals employed in Colorado was unchanged in July at 3,157,500, which represents 66.7 percent of the state’s 16+ population. Colorado’s employment-population ratio of 66.7 in July was one-tenth of percentage point lower compared to the June rate of 66.8 percent. The national employment population ratio grew one-tenth of a percentage point in July to 60.4 percent.

Establishment survey data:

Employers in Colorado added 800 nonfarm payroll jobs from June to July for a total of 2,907,800 jobs, according to the survey of business establishments. Private sector payroll jobs decreased by 1,900, while government added 2,700 jobs.

June estimates were revised down to 2,907,000, and the over the month change from May to June was a gain of 1,800 rather than the originally estimated increase of 4,700 (monthly revisions are based on additional responses from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates).

Over the year, the average workweek for all Colorado employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased from 33.1 to 33.5 hours, while average hourly earnings grew from $34.60 to $35.91, two dollars and seventeen cents more than the national average hourly earnings of $33.74.

These are the unemployment percentages for several southeastern Colorado counties: