State Adds 4,900 Jobs In May
The latest Colorado Department of Labor and Employment data released on Friday shows the state saw net job growth of 4,900 in May. However, the state’s unemployment rate rose to 4.3% for the month from 4.2% in April. Despite this, the state’s unemployment rate remained far below the US average of 5.5%. Year-to-year, Colorado saw 61,100 new jobs, including 6,400 in the public sector. In May, 500 of the new jobs added were public jobs. Overall, the state has seen its unemployment rate fall 0.9% since May 2014, the Denver Post reports.
Colorado chief economist Alexandra Hall said the state’s unemployment claims have been steady in the past year, but may have trended slightly up in May. Hall explained, “It’s fairly similar to April in that the first five months of this year are definitely presenting slower growth than the first five months of last year.” Part of the slowdown in job growth could be due to a colder, snowier winter as well as a very wet May, Hall said. Independent economist Gary Horvath, based in the Broomfield, CO area, projected job growth will continue across the state for the rest of the year, and the US as a whole. He projected, “If job growth at the national level continues on its current pace, about 3.1 million jobs will be added in 2015. That equates to about 260,000 jobs per month.”
What This Means For Small Businesses
Small business owners in the Denver area, and Colorado as a whole, should be find the latest state employment data an encouraging indication that the Denver metro area, and the state as a whole, are small business-friendly. However, the data also indicate job growth has been uneven, and may be coming at a slower pace than previous months.
Additional Reading
Last week, NFIB noted that in 2014 Colorado had some of the top counties in the US for overall job growth.
Note: this article is intended to keep small business owners up on the latest news. It does not necessarily represent the policy stances of NFIB.
