Colorado Jobs and Labor Force Update –September 2023 Update

October 20, 2023

Key Findings—Colorado September 2023 Employment Data

• Colorado’s private sector lost 600 jobs in September, while government employment added 2,100 jobs.
• Colorado’s unemployment ticked up for the 3^rd consecutive month from 3.1% to 3.2%. The last time Colorado’s unemployment rate increased for 3 consecutive months was March-May of 2020, when COVID caused the state’s unemployment rate to reach 11.6%.

• The state’s professional and business and business services sector added 2,300 jobs in September, its strongest month of growth since April of 2022.
• Colorado’s construction sector lost 800 jobs while manufacturing remained even for the month.

According to the BLS survey of establishments (CES), Colorado has never recovered to a pre-pandemic employment-to-population ratio.

According to the BLS survey of households (LAUS), which captures both traditional jobs and self-employment, Colorado fell below its pre-pandemic employment-to-population ratio in September for the first month in the last six.

 
A Deeper Dive into Colorado Industries (BLS CES Survey)

The pandemic caused a major shock to the composition of Colorado’s job market in early 2020 and may have induced some structural change in the long run.

• As a share of Colorado’s total employment, the professional and business services sector has seen its employment increase 11.5% since the start of 2020 (see the graph below).
  • Since January 2020, employment in the mining and logging sector has decreased by 16.8%. In September, this sector lost 100 jobs though this is likely the result of a combination of global trends and state policy.

Colorado Labor Force Update

Colorado’s LFPR (labor force participation rate) dropped 0.1% to 68.6% in September after holding steady at 68.7% for the four previous months.

Key Findings—Colorado September ‘23 Labor Force Data (IPUMS/FRED)

• The LFPR fell by .1 of a percentage point to 68.6% in September, which is .3 of a percentage point below January ’20’s LFPR of 68.9%.
• The unemployment rate increased to 3.2% in September, which is 0.4% higher than it was in September of 2022.
• The national female LFPR increased to 57.5%, which is .4 of a percentage point below its pre-pandemic level.