Jeff Fuentes Gleghorn

Colorado started this year with a higher than average unemployment rate of 4.2 percent, compared to the 4.0 percent nationwide rate. By May, Colorado was lower than the national average. While it is not quite back to pre-pandemic levels, the Centennial State’s September unemployment rate was 3.4 percent, just under the U.S. average of 3.5 percent. Colorado increased non-farm employment by over 4 percent since September of 2021, with the largest gains in leisure and hospitality work. The financial sector was the only industry to lose jobs over the last year, with a drop of 1.5 percent in employment in 12 months.