Colorado regains a fifth of jobs lost

Colorado employers brought back thousands of workers in May as stay-at-home orders lifted, helping push the unemployment rate down to 10.2% from a revised 12.2% in April, according to a monthly update Friday from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.

“It is encouraging the recovery is off to a strong start, although the current rate of job increases will taper off as the year progresses,” said Broomfield economist Gary Horvath.

Given a recent forecast expected Colorado to rank among the 10 hardest-hit states economically because of its heavy reliance on tourism, Horvath said the state is bouncing back much faster than expected.

Private-sector payroll jobs in Colorado rose by 80,800 on a monthly basis, while public sector jobs declined by 12,000, resulting in a net gain of 68,800 nonfarm payroll jobs in May, according to a survey of establishments.

Gains were strongest in leisure and hospitality, up 29,700 jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis from April; educational and health services, up 23,000 jobs; other services, up 6,700 jobs, and manufacturing, up 6,500 jobs.

“The state lost 342,300 payroll jobs from February to April. The May gain recovers about 20% of the lost jobs,” said Ryan Gedney, a senior economist with the department on a press call Friday morning.

Leisure and hospitality, the state’s hardest-hit sector, has regained about 18% of pandemic-related job losses, while educational and health services, which includes medical offices, have recouped half of its losses, Gedney said.

Nationally, the country has recovered about 11% of the jobs lost between February and April, so Colorado’s economy appears to be coming back much stronger. But Horvath urged caution in comparing states, given the different timetables they are taking to reopening their economies.

The state’s unemployment rate, which is based on a separate household survey, came in at 10.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis. April’s rate, estimated at 11.3% initially, was revised up to 12.2%. A year ago in May, the state’s unemployment rate was a low 2.8%.

The U.S. unemployment rate fell from 14.7% in April to 13.3% in May. Nevada leads the nation with a 25.3% unemployment rate, while Nebraska has the lowest rate at 5.2%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Another way to look at the labor situation is the share of the population over age 16 employed. That rose to 59.7% in May from 58.3% in April in Colorado, but remains below the

67.7% rate seen in February, Gedney said.

An additional 8,400 people joined the labor force in May, bringing the total to 3,063,200. The number of people reporting themselves as employed, which includes the self-employed, rose by 69,6000 to 2,750,700. That pushed the number of unemployed down by 61,200.

An estimated 312,400 people remained unemployed in the middle of May. Gedney said about 80% of unemployed workers expected to be called back to their jobs in April, and that figure dropped to two-thirds in May, a sign that many were called back.

In a sign that workers are getting more hours, Gedney said about 7% reported having to work part-time when they would prefer to work full time. That is down from 10% in April.

Three Colorado counties still nursed unemployment rates above 20% in May, down from five in April. They include San Miguel, with a 22.1% unemployment rate in May, Gilpin at 21.3% and Pitkin at 20%. Another seven Eastern Plains counties have unemployment rates below 4%, which reflects a tight labor market.

Metro Denver’s unemployment rate clocked in at 10.4% in May, Boulder at 8.2%, Colorado Springs at 9.7%, Fort Collins at 8.6%, Grand Junction at 9%, Greeley at 8.6%, and Pueblo at 9.2%. Those rates aren’t adjusted for seasonality. Colorado’s unadjusted unemployment rate was 10% in May.