Colorado’s unemployment rate continued to decline at the end of 2022, and remained below the national average, according to a Friday report from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.

The state’s unemployment rate declined in December to 3.3%. This is a two-tenths percentage decrease since the previous month, equaling a drop of 6,700 people over the same time period to 106,700 unemployed individuals. The state’s unemployment rate has stayed between 3.3% and 3.6% since April.

Colorado Indian Market returns to Denver after two years

In comparison, the national unemployment rate declined to 3.5%, a decrease of one-tenth of a percentage point equal to about 5.7 million people who are unemployed.

The state’s jobless rate is moving ever closer to that of February 2020, when it was a record-low 2.8%. Colorado’s unemployment rate ballooned to 11.8% in May 2020 before it began to fall.

The labor force in Colorado decreased by 7,200 people to a total of 3,244,700. The report shows that those participating in the labor force decreased slightly from 69.2% to 69% in December. Nationally, the labor force participation rate increased by one-tenth of a percentage point to 62.3%.

Individuals employed in Colorado declined in December by 500, bringing the total number of people employed to 3,138,000, or 66.7% of the state’s 16 or older population. Employers added 8,600 nonfarm payroll jobs from November to December, bringing the total of available jobs to 2,911,500. Of those jobs added, 600 were government and the rest were private sector jobs. The job recovery rate in Colorado is 124.5%, which continues to be over the national rate at 105.6% in the last 32 months, according to the report.

Professional and business services saw the largest increase of jobs in December, totaling about 5,000. Leisure and hospitality followed closely with about 4,400 new jobs. The average workweek for employees in the state on private, nonfarm payrolls was about 32.9 hours with average hourly earnings $35.52.

Gov. Jared Polis announced in his State of the State address on Tuesday that there are currently two available jobs for every unemployed person.

“Colorado’s low unemployment rate and high rate of job growth continue to outpace the nation, but there is still more progress to be made with two open jobs for every unemployed person,” Gov. Polis said in a press release. “Which is why we are doubling down on our work to make sure every Coloradan can access to the skills they need to get a good-paying job, and every business can hire the workforce they need to power our economy.”

Lafayette gains new aerospace startup ThinkOrbital’s headquarters

Colorado’s private sector retirement program ‘SecureSavings’ portal is now open