The unemployment rate in Mesa County and throughout western Colorado has seen slight decreases since figures were released for March. If you dig into those figures, in some counties including Mesa, employment is healthier than it appears.

The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) reports unemployment in the state remains at 3.0 percent for the fourth consecutive month. The national unemployment rate also remained the same month to month at 4.1 percent.

In Mesa County, unemployment decreased from 4.6 percent in February to 4.0 percent in March. That's 0.1 percent less than the US rate and 1.0 percent higher than the Colorado average.

In March, the total labor force in Mesa County was 74,999 and the number of people employed was 72,006. That compares to a February labor force of 74,935 with 71,453 of those people employed. That equates to 553 more jobs with a workforce increase of 64 people.

From February to March, Colorado employers added 5,400 nonfarm payroll jobs with 4,300 of those in the private sector and 1,100 in the government sector. Statewide in March, Summit County reported the lowest unemployment at 1.5 percent while Huerfano County reported the highest at 6.4 percent.

Here is a breakdown of select counties in western Colorado. A report of all counties can be found on the CDLE website.

Statistics listed for each county are non-seasonally adjusted. (Indicates percentage increase or decrease in unemployment from the previous month).

  • Delta - February 4.8% / March 4.1% (-0.7%)
  • Garfield - February 3.6% / March 3.1% (-0.5)
  • Gunnison - February 2.4% / March 2.2% (-0.2%)
  • Mesa - February 4.6% / March 4.0% (-0.6%)
  • Moffat - February 4.5% / March 3.9% (-0.6%)
  • Montrose - February 4.4% / March 4.0 (-0.4%)
  • Pitkin - February 2.5% / March 2.2% (-0.3%)
  • Rio Blanco - February 4.6% / March 4.1% (-0.5%)
  • Routt - February 2.5% / March 2.2% (-0.3%)
  • San Miguel - February 2.1% / March 1.8% (-0.3%)

CDLE is expected to release April employment statistics on May 18th.

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