Colorado’s unemployment rate fell in September for a fifth consecutive month to 5.6%, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment reported Friday. That’s the lowest rate since the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a stay-at-home order in March 2020 that closed many businesses.

Last month’s jobless rate was down from 5.9% the month before and down from 7% in September 2020. The rate fell mostly because 9,300 more people held jobs in September than did in August, with nearly all of them coming from those who were looking for work. The 3.02 million people holding jobs represents 64.3% of the state’s population over 15 years old. That’s the nation’s seventh highest working-age employment rate and well ahead of the 58.7% nationwide average.

Colorado unemployment rate falls to lowest level of pandemic

The unemployment rate comes from a survey of households that was conducted in mid-September, about a week after extra, expanded and extended unemployment benefits expired. The department reported the fewest number of new unemployment benefit claims filed during the previous week, ending Sept. 11, since the pandemic began — 1,808.

“It is not clear that the expiring benefits were the sole reason for the decline in unemployment (during September). The drop was too close to the expiration of benefits” to make that conclusion, Ryan Gedney, the department’s senior economist, said during an online briefing about the September data.

Colorado unemployment edges lower but for wrong reasons

Unemployment rates fell sharply in all seven Colorado metro areas — Colorado Springs fell from 5.6% to 4.8% and Denver fell from 5.5% to 4.8%. Boulder had the lowest jobless rate among the seven metro areas at 3.6%, while Pueblo had the highest at 7%. Those rates are not adjusted for seasonal changes, so they are best compared with the state’s 4.6% unemployment rate before seasonal adjustments.

Much of the state’s payroll job growth came from the hotel, restaurant and retail sectors, which combined to add more than 6,000 jobs during September. Those numbers come from a survey of businesses, which does not include self-employed and contract workers who are counted in the household survey.

Colorado’s unemployment rate unchanged at 6.2%

Gedney said payroll job growth has slowed in recent months, a slowdown that may have been triggered by rising numbers of COVID cases from the delta variant. He said the state’s job growth needs to be two to two-and-a-half times faster for the state to recover all of the jobs lost during the pandemic by early next year, a goal that seemed realistic before the slowdown.

The business survey showed Colorado Springs has recovered all but 300 of the nearly 39,000 jobs lost during the first two months of the pandemic — the highest job recovery rate in the state at 99%. That compares with an 81% job recovery rate for the Denver area, 79% statewide and 78% nationwide. Pueblo and Greeley had the state’s lowest job recovery rates at 67% and 53%, respectively.

Colorado unemployment rate falls to lowest level since March 2020

Statewide, the transportation, warehousing and utilities; management; professional, scientific and technical and wholesale trade sectors all have regained jobs lost in the pandemic and even added workers. The finance and insurance, mining and logging and government sectors all have shed more jobs since the pandemic began.