Colorado Employment Situation — April 2025

8,400 Nonfarm Payroll Jobs Added in April; Unemployment Rate Unchanged at 4.8%

Household survey data

• According to the survey of households, the number of unemployed individuals increased by 2,100 to 158,700 from March to April. Colorado’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained unchanged over the same time period at 4.8 percent. The national unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.2 percent from March to April.
• Colorado’s labor force increased by 2,600 in April to 3,283,400. The share of Coloradans participating in the labor force was 67.8 percent in April, unchanged from the month prior. The U.S. labor force participation rate increased one-tenth of a percentage point to 62.6 percent in April.
• The number of individuals employed in Colorado increased by 500 in April to 3,124,800, which represents 64.5 percent of the state’s 16+ population. Colorado’s employment-population ratio of 64.5 in April decreased one-tenth of a percentage point from the month prior. The national employment-population ratio increased one-tenth of a percentage point to 60.0 percent from March to April.

Establishment survey data

• Employers in Colorado gained 8,400 nonfarm payroll jobs from March to April for a total of 2,982,000 jobs, according to the survey of business establishments. Private sector payroll jobs increased by 6,900, while government added 1,500 jobs.
• March estimates were revised up to 2,973,600, and the over the month change from February to March was an increase of 7,600 jobs rather than the originally estimated increase of 6,800 (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 April were: educational and health services (≈4,800), and leisure and hospitality (≈4,300). The private industry sector with significant over the month job losses was: professional and business services (≈2,600).
• Since April 2024, nonfarm payroll jobs have increased 23,200, with the private sector increasing by 9,000 and government adding 14,200 jobs. The largest private sector job gains were in leisure and hospitality (≈8,300), educational and health services (≈5,400), and construction (≈1,100). During that same period, payroll jobs declined in professional and business services (≈2,400), trade, transportation, and utilities (≈1,900), and other services (≈1,500). Colorado’s rate of job growth over the past year is 0.8 percent, below the U.S. rate of 1.2 percent.
• Over the year, the average workweek for all Colorado employees on private nonfarm payrolls decreased from 33.4 to 33.1 hours, while average hourly earnings grew from $37.80 to $39.10, three dollars and four cents more than the national average hourly earnings of $36.06.

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