Colorado’s unemployment rate rose to 4% in August — the highest it’s been since January 2022, according to an Aug. 20 report by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. 

The rise to 4% is only a one-tenth increase to the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, which translates to roughly 2,200 newly unemployed individuals in the past month for a total of 128,480 unemployed residents, according to state survey data. 

The state is still slightly below the 4.2% national rate, which has decreased by one-tenth of a percentage point since July. 

Colorado’s unemployment rate has grown steadily since August 2022, when it hit its lowest level since the pandemic at 2.6%. By January 2024, unemployment had grown to 3%, hitting the 3.5% mark in February and 4% in August. 

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Of the Coloradans who have experienced unemployment between September 2023 and August 2024, 3.5% are white, 4.9% are of Hispanic origin and 7.6% are Black. 

Colorado employers create more jobs

Despite the rise in unemployment, the number of employed Coloradans has grown by 2,000 since September. Roughly 65.3% of the state’s population is currently employed, which has not changed since May.

The number of newly employed Coloradans in August was considerably below the 4,100-person increase in the state’s labor force, which includes people who are employed, unemployed and looking for work. This likely helps to explain why the state is seeing growing unemployment numbers despite an increase in available jobs.

Survey data shows that Colorado added 7,400 nonfarm payroll jobs and lost 300 government jobs from July to August. Total jobs in the state currently sit at roughly 2.9 million, an increase of 41,900 jobs (1.3%) since August 2023. In the last year, the fastest-growing private sector in terms of jobs was education and health services, at approximately 11,100 new jobs, according to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. This is nearly double the jobs created in education and health services between August 2022 and August 2023, which was listed as the third fastest-growing sector at 6,400 new jobs. Job gains that year were the greatest in leisure and hospitality, at nearly 24,000 jobs.