By Peter Marcus, DENVER DAILY NEWS
DENVER — The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Colorado edged down one-tenth of a percentage point to 7.4 percent in April, state labor officials said on Friday.
But Donald J. Mares, executive director of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, said he expects the unemployment rate to slide back up again.
“While this marks the first time since October 2007 that the unemployment rate has fallen, continued job loses will likely push Colorado’s unemployment rate sill higher in the upcoming months,” he said.
Big change from a year ago
A year ago, the unemployment rate stood at 4.7 percent.
Labor officials said the increase marks an additional 13,200 employed Coloradans, bringing the total to over 2.5 million. Unemployment declined by 2,200 to 201,300.
But despite the increase, total employment has fallen 62,900 over the past year. The number of Colorado residents unsuccessfully seeking work has risen 74,000 since last April.
First-time filings for unemployment insurance through the first four months of this year have doubled compared with the same period last year, said labor officials. The number of continued weeks claimed for unemployment benefits also remains at very high levels.
Colorado still remains below the national unemployment rate, which was 8.9 percent in April.
The lowest unemployment rate in Colorado was found in Cheyenne County with a jobless rate of 3.3 percent. Dolores and San Juan counties posted the highest rates at 14.9 percent and 10.8 percent, respectively.
Nonfarm employment was down 3.8 percent in April compared to a year ago. Leisure and hospitality cut 4,600 positions as the winter recreation season came to a close.
Professional, business services up
Professional and business services marked the biggest increase in employment during April, adding 2,200 positions due to seasonal hiring in its administrative and business support services sector.
Construction also saw its first increase since last June with an additional 900 jobs. Unfortunately, that increase only represents about one-quarter of its normal April growth.
Education and health services added 700 positions, all in the health care and social assistance subsector.
Overall, eight industries are now registering lower employment levels than a year ago, equating to widespread job losses, said labor officials. The hardest hit industries have been professional and business services, down 31,500; construction, down 23,500; and trade, transportation and utilities, down 17,900.
Distributed by Colorado Capitol Reporters
