Archuleta County’s unemployment rate dropped to 2.8 percent in April, according to a May 26 report from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE).
That figure is down from 3.2 percent in March.
Archuleta County’s rate of 2.8 percent this April compares to 3.5 percent in April 2025.
Archuleta County’s labor force totaled 6,669 in April, according to the report, with 184 unemployed. That compares to a March labor force of 6,601 and 212 unemployed.
Colorado’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate again remained unchanged at 3.9 percent in April.
According to the survey of households, the number of unemployed individuals decreased by 700 to 126,400 from March to April.
“Colorado’s labor force decreased by 12,300 in April to 3,215,600,” states a press release from the CDLE.
It notes the share of Coloradans participating in the labor force was 66.1 percent in April, two-tenths of a percentage point lower than in March.
The press release notes this marks the lowest labor force participation rate since August 2020.
“The U.S. labor force participation rate decreased one-tenth of a percentage point to 61.8 percent in April,” it states.
The national unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.3 percent from March to April, it notes.
San Miguel County had the highest unemployment rate in the state in April at 6.6 percent, followed by Costilla County at 6.1 percent.
The lowest unemployment rate in the state for April was Yuma County at 1.9 percent.
Regionally, the data shows La Plata County with a 3.0 percent unemployment rate in April, San Juan County at 3.5 percent, Mineral County at 4.2 percent, Rio Grande County at 3.5 percent and Conejos County at 3.1 percent.
Job loss, growth
Employers in Colorado gained 11,800 nonfarm payroll jobs from March to April for a total of 2,967,800 jobs, according to the survey of business establishments. Private sector payroll jobs increased by 12,000, while government decreased by 200.
The release also notes, “March estimates were revised up to 2,956,000, and the over the month change from February to March was an increase of 2,800 jobs rather than the originally estimated increase of 1,400 (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:
• Professional and business services at about 4,700 jobs.
• Education and health services at about 3,900.
• Trade, transportation and utilities by about 1,400.
• Financial activities by about 1,200.
There were no private industry sectors with significant over-the-month job losses.
Since April 2025, nonfarm payroll jobs have increased by 3,900, with the private sector increasing by 6,600 and government losing 2,700 jobs.
The largest private-sector job gains were:
• Educational and health services by about 19,200 jobs.
• Construction by about 3,800.
During that same period, payroll jobs declined in:
• Financial activities by about 3,900 jobs.
• Information by about 3,900.
• Other services by about 2,600.
• Manufacturing by about 2,000.
• Trade, transportation and utilities by about 1,900.
• Mining and logging by about 1,200.
• Leisure and hospitality by about 1,000.
“Colorado’s rate of job growth over the past year is 0.1 percent, below the U.S. rate of 0.2 percent,” the report notes.
It further notes that, over the year, the average workweek for all Colorado employees on private nonfarm payrolls decreased from 33.1 to 32.9 hours, while average hourly earnings grew from $39.09 to $39.86, $2.45 more than the national average hourly earnings of $37.41.
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data
Also on May 26, the CDLE released 2025 data from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey.
The OEWS is a federal-state cooperative program that provides estimates of employment and wages for more than 800 nonmilitary detailed occupations in 22 major occupational groups.
Every year, the CDLE, in partnership with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), collects and publishes occupation and wage data for the state of Colorado and for 10 substate regions.
In Colorado, 3,920 businesses were initially surveyed beginning in November of 2024 and 3,921 were initially surveyed beginning in May of 2025. After excluding establishments that were out of business or out of scope, a total of 82.4 percent of 7,326 businesses provided information on the job titles and wages of their employees. These data were combined with responses from the previous two years (a total of six semiannual surveys) to produce the May 2025 occupational estimates, the survey report explains.
According to a press release, “Workers in the State of Colorado had a mean (average) hourly wage of $37.11 in 2025, about 10.64 percent above the US average of $33.54, according to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment and the BLS. The statewide median hourly wage for all covered employment was $28.75 compared to the US median of $24.51.”
For Southwest Colorado, the average hourly wage was $30.14, according to the survey data, with the median hourly wage at $24.12. The average annual was $62,695, and the median annual was $50,164.
The occupational groups with the most workers for the state as a whole were office and administrative support (301,320 workers), sales and related (296,260), and food preparation and serving related occupations (269,820), according to the press release. These three groups accounted for about 30 percent of total covered employment. Management occupations had the highest average wage, while food preparation and serving related occupations had the lowest.
For Southwest Colorado, the No. 1 occupation is listed as fast food and counter workers (3,490), followed by cashiers (3,340) and retail salespersons (3,310).
randi@pagosasun.com
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