Boulder County’s unemployment rate remained below the state’s average in April.
According to the most recent numbers from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, 2.1% of Boulder County workers were unemployed or a total of 4,242 people. Statewide, Colorado’s unemployment rate was 2.8% when seasonally adjusted.
Statewide unemployment numbers have held steady for nearly nine months now and have remained under 3% for 12 consecutive months. The national unemployment rate decreased by a tenth of a percentage point to 3.4% in April.
At the same time, the state’s labor force increased by 7,500 in April with 68.6% of Coloradans participating in the labor force. Nationwide, the labor force participation rate is 62.6%.
Based on online advertised jobs data compiled by the state, there are 6,946 job openings in Boulder County. The employers with the largest number of job openings include the St. Vrain Valley School District, Boulder Community Health, University of Colorado-Boulder and Centura Health.
The top growing occupations in the county continue to be fast food and counter workers, retail salesperson, cashiers, waiters and waitresses and restaurant cooks. All five occupations have a median wage under $40,000 a year.
The average annual wage in Boulder County is $89,596, according to the state or $43.08 an hour. Over the year the average hourly earnings in Colorado grew from $34.24 to $35.79 — $2.43 more than the national average hourly earnings.
