Colorado Employment Situation — March 2025 – Nonfarm Payroll Jobs Increase by 6,800 in March; Unemployment Rate Rises to 4.8 Percent

Household survey data 

• According to the survey of households, the number of unemployed individuals increased by 1,200 to 156,500 from February to March. Colorado’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased one-tenth of a percentage point over the same time period to 4.8 percent. The national unemployment rate increased one-tenth of a percentage point to 4.2 percent from February to March.
• Colorado’s labor force decreased by 2,400 in March to 3,280,800. The share of Coloradans participating in the labor force decreased to 67.8 percent in March, compared to 67.9 percent the month prior. The U.S. labor force participation rate increased one-tenth of a percentage point to 62.5 percent in March.
• The number of individuals employed in Colorado decreased by 3,600 in March to 3,124,200, which represents 64.6 percent of the state’s 16+ population. Colorado’s employment-population ratio of 64.6 in March decreased one-tenth of a percentage point from the month prior. The national employment-population ratio was unchanged at 59.9 percent from February to March.

Establishment survey data 

• Employers in Colorado gained 6,800 nonfarm payroll jobs from February to March for a total of 2,972,800 jobs, according to the survey of business establishments. Private sector payroll jobs increased by 5,800, while government added 1,000 jobs.
• February estimates were revised down to 2,966,000, and the over the month change from January to February was a decrease of 11,600 jobs rather than the originally estimated decrease of 8,900 (monthly revisions are based on additional responses from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates).
• The private industry sectors with significant over the month job gains in March were: trade, transportation, and utilities (≈7,700); partially reflecting the return of workers from a strike within the retail sector, and professional and business services (≈1,000). The private industry sectors with significant over the month job losses were: education and health services (≈2,400), and leisure and hospitality (≈1,800).
• Since March 2024, nonfarm payroll jobs have increased 2,300, with the private sector declining by 11,500 and government adding 13,800 jobs. The largest private sector job gains were in educational and health services (≈1,500) and leisure and hospitality (≈1,400). During that same period, payroll jobs declined in professional and business services (≈8,400), trade, transportation, and utilities (≈1,900), information (≈1,300), financial activities (≈1,300), construction (≈1,100), and other services (≈1,100). Colorado’s rate of job growth over the past year is 0.1 percent, below the U.S. rate of 1.2 percent.
• Over the year, the average workweek for all Colorado employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased from 32.8 to 33.5 hours, while average hourly earnings grew from $37.74 to $39.20, three dollars and twenty cents more than the national average hourly earnings of $36.00.

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