‘One of the most active hiring markets in the Mountain West,’ study shows

At a moment when job growth will likely be a political issue in fall elections, a European-based job referral service has released a study showing employers have kept up a moderate pace of job offerings in Denver and ranks the area as a strong hiring market within the Rocky Mountain region.

The report, however, shows a downward trend in salary levels offered, tracking a 5% drop in specialist salary levels that were being offered coming into early 2026.

The analysis of job postings in the metro area was issued this week by the online career platform JobLeads, based in Hamburg, Germany.

Mayor’s job growth plan

On Thursday, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston announced a $100 million plan to support “10,000 good jobs citywide” over the coming three years. In a news release, Johnston said that the program would encourage businesses to choose Denver, revitalize downtown and prepare residents for jobs.

Overall job leads continue to show a cooling off from the boom market a few years back, according to the analysis by JobLeads. Offerings early this year were notably skewed toward management and operations positions, comprising around a quarter of all positions.

Health and medical science positions followed with 18% of job leads; information technology jobs with 13%; engineering jobs with 12% and finance jobs with 10%.

The average specialist salary offered in the area topped off at $87,135 during the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the report, but had fallen sharply over the first quarter of 2026 to $82,389.

Low unemployment rate

The most recent data released by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment showed unemployment statewide falling from April to May, with a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate now unchanged at 3.9%. That number outperforms the national unemployment rate of 4.3% for May.

Although the JobLeads report noted that first-quarter numbers rank below those from the boom job market seen through 2023, it was quick to note that the offerings remain relatively strong and that Denver’s position remains “one of the most active hiring markets in the Mountain West.”

JobLeads also released a report on the Boulder area market, showing an upswing in offerings, with tech jobs a more prominent component. First-quarter numbers saw a rebound in job postings that put Boulder on track to maintain its level from earlier in 2025. Management and tech jobs collectively account for some 40% of Boulder offerings.

In Denver, some 91,500 job listings were posted during the first quarter, which was seen as a steadying level.

“That plateau suggests Denver’s hiring boom has matured into a steadier, if still healthy, pace rather than continuing to accelerate,” the report noted.

In both Denver and in Boulder a typical job, once posted, fills in 19 days.

Caveats to the JobLeads report note that duplicate postings are excluded, that only full-time positions are included and that fill times show how long a listing was active and not how long an internal hiring process takes.

A 2025 report by Greenwood Village-based Common Sense Institute had reported that jobs were among factors affecting Denver’s passage from a preferred destination of population migration to one closer to the national average.