Colorado’s unemployment rate keeps creeping up.
The unemployment rate rose from 4.7 percent to 4.8 percent in March, according to Colorado’s labor department. That’s higher than the national rate of 4.2 percent.
Colorado’s unemployment rate has been rising since hitting a post-pandemic low of 2.6 percent in 2022.
The state’s economic growth is stagnating relative to the broader U.S. The state added 2,300 jobs during the past 12 months, which equates to a growth rate of 0.1 percent. That compares to the U.S. rate of 1.2 percent. Colorado ranks 44th for job growth among the 50 states and Washington, D.C.
The state gained 6,800 jobs in March from the prior month, but the data is skewed by the February strike at King Soopers. The monthly job numbers are preliminary and typically change as more information comes in.
Economists are stumped as to what, exactly, is dragging down Colorado’s growth. Economists from the University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business point to fewer people moving to the state and a slowdown in the tech sector as potential drivers.
Unemployment is almost certain to rise as President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency slashes government jobs. The number of the state’s federal employees filing for unemployment started rising shortly after Trump’s inauguration. It’s leveled off somewhat in recent weeks as lawsuits play out over whether the firings are legal.
