Colorado’s job market is in a holding pattern.
The unemployment rate, which has been climbing for more than a year, held steady at 4.7 percent in February, according to Colorado’s labor department.
At the same time, businesses reported a loss of 8,900 nonfarm jobs last month, but the data was skewed by the strike at King Soopers. Supermarket workers walked off the job for nearly two weeks in February during contract negotiations.
The monthly job numbers are preliminary and will likely change as more information comes in. Still, the trend for Colorado’s job market is clear. It’s slowed substantially since the post-pandemic boom in hiring. Last month, the state’s job growth was flat from last year. That compared to a U.S. growth rate of 1.2 percent.
An updated report on Colorado jobs statistics showed fewer jobs were added in 2024 than previously reported. It’s been hard to read what’s happening with Colorado’s economy for the past year because a new computer system introduced mistakes in data collection. The state’s labor department has said the problems have been fixed.
Unemployment is almost certain to rise as Colorado’s federal workforce braces for more layoffs as President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency slash government jobs. The number of the state’s federal employees filing for unemployment started rising shortly after Trump’s inauguration. It’s been stable in recent weeks as lawsuits play out over whether the firings are legal.
