Colorado hiring loses some oomph in September following a strong August

The wait is over Colorado gained a tepid nonfarm jobs and the state s unemployment rate fell slightly to in September according to a much-anticipated statement from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment The holdup was a conclusion of the federal leadership shutdown which prevented several agencies from gathering evidence and issuing reports including the U S Bureau of Labor Statistics which works closely with the CDLE in compiling the monthly account Private sector employers in Colorado cut their payrolls by a net jobs while leadership employers who are under increasing fiscal pressures added jobs For the year the private sector has added jobs while the population sector which accounts for just under one in five jobs in the state has added jobs On the plus side revisions pushed the number of jobs added between July and August to compared to the initial estimate of Since September the state has added a net jobs which is close to the jobs that the Colorado Business Economic Outlook from the University of Colorado forecasts the state will add in The two private industry sectors with the biggest monthly gains were professional and business services up and other services up The biggest losses on the month came in pact transportation and utilities down jobs and in construction down For the months through September the largest gains have come in educational and fitness services up leisure and hospitality up information up and professional and business services up Broomfield economist Gary Horvath explained he was encouraged that the employers in professional and business services PBS are adding workers rather than letting them go which had been the pattern for the bulk of the year It was positive news to see the upward revision in August It was great to see that the PBS sector is again in positive territory That is a critical sector for the overall business activity he revealed The biggest annual declines came in financial programs down jobs arrangement transportation and utilities down jobs and construction down jobs Colorado ranked th worst for the monthly change and th for the annual change in construction jobs according to the Associated General Contractors Contractors have become more reluctant to shed construction workers given how complex it is to find them due to ongoing shortages But building activity is slowing in Colorado one of states where construction employment has shrunk over the past year Related Articles In Colorado town built on coal certain families are moving on even as Trump tries to boost industry Prospective employees companies negotiate fast-changing new world of AI United Airlines Special Olympics partner to hire workers at Denver airport The pleasures and perils of seasonal jobs in the backcountry on rivers or snow Opinion Affordability tops concerns for Colorado Latinos but criticism mounts for immigration crackdown Firms continue to review that finding enough qualified workers is one of their biggest challenges and a key factor behind project delays stated Macrina Wilkins senior research analyst at the association in the document Overall the state s rate of annual job increase is which is below the U S rate of Colorado s unemployment rate fell from in August to in September reflecting fewer unemployed workers The labor force participation rate a measure of the share of people working or looking for work also fell from to marking the lowest level since November The CDLE noted it will not publish a analysis for October given that the household survey wasn t conducted that month The employment overview for November is expected to be disclosed on Dec