Centennial State News

Colorado Department of Labor and Employment issued the following announcement on Dec. 18.

Colorado Employment Situation – November 2020 Nonfarm Payroll Jobs Decline by 6,900 in November; Unemployment Rate Unchanged at 6.4%.

Household survey data 

According to the survey of households, Colorado’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was unchanged in November at 6.4 percent. The national unemployment rate declined two-tenths of a percentage point from October to 6.7 percent.

Other highlights from the household survey:

• Colorado’s labor force decreased by 100 in November to 3,136,000. The labor force participation rate declined by one-tenth of a percentage point to 67.5 percent.

   

• The number of individuals employed in Colorado increased by 500 in November to 2,936,700, which represents 63.2 percent of the state’s 16+ population.

   

• The Colorado counties with the highest unemployment rates in November were: San Miguel (11.2%), Pitkin (10.2%), Huerfano (8.7%), Pueblo (8.3%), and Eagle (7.8). County-level unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted and are directly comparable to Colorado’s November unadjusted rate of 6.2 percent.

  Establishment survey data 

Nonfarm payroll jobs in Colorado declined by 6,900 from October to November for a total of 2,680,700 jobs, according to the survey of business establishments. Private sector payroll jobs decreased by 5,900, while government shed 1,000 jobs. This ends a six-month streak of consecutive job gains in Colorado. The last time nonfarm payroll jobs decreased was in April, during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent shutdown orders. Including the November job losses, Colorado has gained back 209,600 of the 342,300 nonfarm payroll jobs lost between February and April. That translates to a job recovery rate of 61.2 percent, which exceeds the U.S. rate of 55.6 percent.

Other highlights from the establishment survey: 

• October estimates were revised down to 2,687,600, and the over the month change from September to October was a gain of 20,600 rather than the originally estimated increase of 21,100 (monthly revisions are based on additional responses from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates).

   

• Private industry sectors with significant job gains in November were: professional and business services (~3,300), and trade, transportation, and utilities (~1,100). Significant over the month private sector job loss occurred in leisure and hospitality (~6,400), education and health services (~3,800), and financial activities (~2,000).

   

• Since November 2019, nonfarm payroll jobs have decreased 128,200, with losses totaling 97,700 in the private sector and 30,500 in government. The largest private sector job losses were in leisure and hospitality (~56,900), education and health services (~15,000), and other services (~8,800), and Colorado’s rate of job loss over the past year is -4.6 percent, compared to the U.S. rate of -6.1 percent.

   

• Over the year, the average workweek for all Colorado employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased from 33.2 to 33.9 hours, while average hourly earnings rose from $30.66 to $31.15, over a dollar and fifty cents more than the national average hourly earnings of $29.58.

Original source can be found here.