Colorado Adds Over 11K Jobs, Yet Unemployment Rises

Colorado added more than 11,000 jobs between May and June. That’s more than twice the job growth from the previous two months. 

• April 21: State Loses Almost 4k Jobs, Unemployment Rate Steady
• March 27: Colorado Unemployment Rate Holds Steady At 4.2 Percent

Even so, fewer Coloradans reported being employed in June, raising the state’s unemployment rate one tenth of a percent to 4.4 percent. Low oil prices are keeping jobs down in Colorado’s oil industry. But the state’s Chief Economist, Alexandra Hall, says other areas are making up for it.

"What we’re seeing is that job growth in general is strong enough that we are able to overcome the declines in oil and gas with growth in other sectors," Hall explained.

She says construction, education, financial services and manufacturing are all showing strong job growth compared to this time last year.

The biggest gains were in the leisure and hospitality industries. And the job growth includes pretty much the entire state, says Colorado’s Chief Economist Alexandra Hall.

Some rural areas, including Jackson County in northern Colorado, and Hinsdale County in the southwest are not seeing the same job growth as the rest of the state.