Summer months are typically thought of as good months for employment in Colorado. While it isn't the case this summer in the state as a whole, Western Colorado has seen an increase in people finding jobs.

In the latest report from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment and the Office of Government, Policy and Public Relations, the unemployment rate in Colorado increased one-tenth of a point to 3.8 percent from June to July.

The two most significant parts of the report are a decline of 4,100 people actively participating in the workforce and a decrease of 8,500 people who reported being employed.

There was also a slight decrease in both the average number of hours worked and the average hourly wage. The state's unemployment rate is still lower than the national average of 4.9 percent.

Employment reports in Western Colorado were slightly better with counties seeing a drop in unemployment over the last two months.

Specifically, here are unemployment rates from selected counties for June compared to July;

  • Delta - 5.8% / 5.1% (-0.7)
  • Eagle - 3.5% / 2.7% (-0.8)
  • Garfield - 4.3% / 3.6% (-0.7)
  • Gunnison - 2.7% / 2.2% (-0.5)
  • Mesa - 6.6% / 6.0% (-0.6)
  • Moffat - 4.5% / 4.0% (-0.5)
  • Montrose - 5.1% / 4.2% (-0.9)
  • Ouray - 4.0% / 3.4 % (-0.6)
  • Pitkin - 3.9% / 2.9% (-1.0)
  • Rio Blanco - 6.2% / 5.2% (-1.0)
  • Routt - 3.2% / 2.8% (-0.4)
  • San Juan - 3.7% / 2.6% (-1.1)
  • San Miguel - 3.4% / 2.6% (-0.8)

Statewide, From January through July, the average unemployment rate for all of Colorado has remained almost unchanged at 3.8 percent.

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