Colorado Employment Situation April 2011

Employers in Colorado added 2,200 non-farm payroll jobs from March to April for a total of 2,228,200 jobs, according to the survey of establishments. Government declined by 100 payroll jobs and the private sector increased by 2,300.

The unemployment rate decreased four-tenths of a percentage point to 8.8% based on household survey results. The labor force increased 5,300 to 2,691,800 and total employment increased 14,300. The increase in total employment was greater than the increase in labor force, causing the number of unemployed to decline by 9,000. The national unemployment rate increased from 8.8 to 9.0 percent over the same period.

Over the year, the unemployment rate is down two-tenths of one percentage point from 9.0 percent in April 2010. The number of Coloradans participating in the labor force declined 10,100, total employment declined 4,800 and the number of unemployed decreased 5,300. The national unemployment rate declined from 9.8 to 9.0 percent from April 2010 to 2011.

The job market in southeast Colorado showed a gradual improvement for most counties. The figures provided are in percentages.

Dolores, San Juan and Costilla Counties showed the largest unemployment rates at 16.7, 15.5 and 13 percent respectively. The counties with the lowest unemployment for Colorado were: Cheyenne, Baca and Yuma at 3.3, 3.9 and 4.1 percent respectively.