Archuleta County’s unemployment rate fell to 4.0 percent in April from 4.5 percent in March, according to a recent report from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE).
Archuleta County’s rate of 4.0 percent in April compares to 3.6 percent in April 2024.
Archuleta County’s labor force totaled 6,991 in March, according to the report, with 281 unemployed. That compares to a March labor force of 6,891 and 311 unemployed.
Colorado’s unemployment rate remained at 4.8 percent for the month — the same as the month prior.
According to the survey of households, the number of unemployed individuals increased by 2,100 to 158,700 from March to April.
“Colorado’s labor force increased by 2,600 in April to 3,283,400,” state a press release from the CDLE. “The share of Coloradans participating in the labor force was 67.8 percent in April, unchanged from the month prior.”
Mineral County had the highest unemployment rate in the state in March at 8.8 percent, with Costilla County following at 7.8 percent.
Regionally, the data shows La Plata County with a 4.2 percent unemployment rate in April, San Juan County at 3.7 percent, Mineral County at 8.8 percent, Rio Grande County at 5.0 percent and Conejos County at 4.6 percent.
The national unemployment rate remained unchanged from March to April, coming in at 4.2 percent.
The national unemployment rate also increased by one-tenth of a percentage point from February to March to land at 4.2 percent, the report indicates. The U.S. labor force participation rate increased one-tenth of a percentage point to 62.6 percent in April.
Job growth
Employers in Colorado gained 8,400 nonfarm payroll jobs from March to April for a total of 2,982,000 jobs, according to the survey of business establishments. Private-sector payroll jobs increased by 6,900, while government added 1,500 jobs.
The press release accompanying the report notes, “March estimates were revised up to 2,973,600, and the over the month change from February to March was an increase of 7,600 jobs rather than the originally estimated increase of 6,800 (monthly revisions are based on additional responses from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates).”
Nonfarm payroll jobs estimates are based on a survey of business establishments and government agencies, and are intended to measure the number of jobs, not the number of people employed.
The private-industry sectors with significant over-the-month job gains in April were in education and health services at about 4,800, and leisure and hospitality at about 4,300.
The private-industry sector with significant over-the-month job losses was professional and business services at about 2,600.
Since April 2024, nonfarm payroll jobs have increased 23,200, with the private sector increasing by 9,000 and government adding 14,200 jobs, according to the report.
The largest private-sector job gains were in leisure and hospitality at about 8,300, educational and health services at about 5,400, and construction at about 1,100.
During that same period, payroll jobs declined in professional and business services by about 2,400; trade, transportation and utilities by about 1,900; and other services by about 1,500.
“Colorado’s rate of job growth over the past year is 0.8 percent, below the U.S. rate of 1.2 percent,” the press release states.
Over the year, the average workweek for all Colorado employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased from 33.4 to 33.1 hours, while average hourly earnings grew from $37.80 to $39.10 — $3.04 more than the national average hourly earnings of $36.06.
randi@pagosasun.com
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