Colorado added roughly 51,000 fewer jobs than previously reported during the 12-month period ended in March, according to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The data comes from updated information the agency published this week, based on state records tied to unemployment insurance. The BLS regularly revises its monthly payroll estimates using the unemployment insurance records, which are more accurate than the monthly surveys.
The revisions are still preliminary and will be adjusted again before they are finalized.
Colorado’s dim employment numbers are part of a broader trend. Overall, the U.S. created 911,000 fewer jobs than previously thought, the new BLS data show. It was the largest revision in U.S. history.
Still, Colorado’s downward revision stood out. North Carolina is the only state that had a bigger negative change, with 56,900 fewer jobs added than previously estimated. In some states, including California, Arizona and New Mexico, jobs were undercounted.
On a percentage basis, Colorado had the biggest drop in job growth relative to prior estimates at 1.8 percent.
Colorado went through a similar situation when the job numbers were first revised last year. The state was estimated to have added 72,700 fewer jobs than initially reported, by far the largest revision of any state. At the time, a representative for Colorado’s labor department said the team was investigating and working with national partners to understand the root causes of why the state had such a large revision.
“While Colorado has experienced larger-than-typical revisions over the last two years, Colorado is not the only state that is experiencing downward revisions, “ a spokesperson for the state’s labor department said in an emailed statement.
The state’s labor departments started having problems collecting employment data when a new computer system was rolled out in 2023. The numbers became so unreliable that the BLS briefly stopped publishing them earlier this year. In February, the BLS said the quality concerns were “sufficiently addressed.”
It’s not clear what role the state’s problem with data collection has played in the revisions.
“In Colorado, we are seeing improvement in the collection and quality of our data,” the state labor department spokesperson said. “It’s important to note that there is a real softening that is happening throughout the U.S., so it is difficult to capture the degree to which data collection is impacting revisions given slower job growth over the past two years.”
Colorado’s economic growth has been lagging behind the rest of the U.S. since last year. Now, job growth is stalling throughout the country as President Donald Trump’s economic policies spur concern that inflation is picking back up at the same time that businesses slow down.
| This story is part of a collection tracking the impacts of President Donald Trump’s second administration on the lives of everyday Coloradans. Since taking office, Trump has overhauled nearly every aspect of the federal government; journalists from CPR News, KRCC and Denverite are staying on top of what that means for you. Read more here. |
