Nonfarm payroll jobs in Colorado increased by 8,800 from September to October to 2.25 million jobs, according to the latest figures from the state Department of Labor and Employment. Government added 900 payroll jobs and the private sector added 7,900.
These new jobs decreased the state’s unemployment rate two-tenths of a percentage point to 8.1 percent. The statewide unemployment rate is down from 8.9 percent in October 2010.
“Some positive trends are beginning to emerge on the Colorado jobs front,” said Ellen Golombek, executive director of the labor department, in releasing the numbers on Tuesday. “While we still have a ways to go to recover all of the jobs lost due to the Great Recession, job creation today is stronger than it was a year ago. We’ve added over 30,000 jobs since the beginning of 2011.”
In Larimer County, the unemployment rate in October was 6.1 percent, slightly higher than in September but down from the 6.8 percent reported in October 2010. These figures are not seasonally adjusted.
This ranks the Fort Collins-Loveland area second in the state among metropolitan areas with the lowest unemployment rates. Only Boulder-Longmont at 5.9 percent has a lower rate; Pueblo’s 9.4 percent is the highest, followed by Greeley at 8.7 percent.
The national unemployment rate declined one-tenth of 1 percentage point over the same period to 9 percent, and from 9.7 percent in October 2010.