Colorado’s unemployment rate remained unchanged last month, even as nearly 16,000 people returned to the job market and found work, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment reported Friday.

October’s rate didn’t budge from September’s 6.4% rate; that was the lowest rate since March but is still more than double the record low of 2.5% in October 2019. The state’s unemployment rate peaked at a record high of 12.2% in April during a statewide stay-at-home order to battle the COVID-19 pandemic.

Colorado first-time unemployment claims surge to 4-month high

While the number employed rose, so did those looking for work, with nearly 10% of the 17,600 people who returned to the job market failing to find a job. More than 200,000 people remain out of work, with 37% on temporary layoff or furlough and 42% who have lost jobs permanently.

Ryan Gedney, the Labor Department’s senior economist, said the hotel and restaurant sector will face “headwinds” as COVID-19 cases surge across the state, triggering more restrictions. First-time claims for unemployment benefits have increased for four consecutive weeks through last week, jumping nearly 60% during since mid-October.

Colorado Springs unemployment edges lower as thousands return to job market

Jobless rates in Colorado Springs and Pueblo increased in October from September to 6% and 7.8%, respectively. The unemployment rates in Denver and Grand Junction remained unchanged at 6.5% and 5.7%, respectively, while rates in Boulder, Fort Collins and Greeley fell to 5.2%, 5.1% and 6.2%, respectively.

Even though the state’s unemployment rate, which is calculated from a survey of households, didn’t change, a separate survey of employers reflected strong job growth, with the trade, transportation and utilities sector and the leisure and hospitality sector combining to add more than 13,000 jobs in October. Manufacturing, information and government shed jobs during the month.

Colorado unemployment rate falls to lowest level since March

The Colorado economy is recovering jobs significantly faster than the rest of the nation. Through October, the state has recovered nearly two-thirds of the jobs lost during the first two months of the pandemic, when the stay-at-home order forced many businesses to temporarily close or slash operations, while the U.S. economy has recovered 54% of the jobs lost during the same period.

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