Colorado’s unemployment rate continues its slow but steady decline.

June’s household survey found that the state’s unemployment level edged down a tenth of a percentage point to 3.4%, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment reported Friday. It has been 12 consecutive months of flat or dropping unemployment levels, according to the department.

Colorado’s unemployment level and rate of job growth are both doing better than the national average. The U.S. unemployment rate was 3.6% in June, the fourth straight month at that rate. The state has fully recovered all the jobs it lost during the pandemic, said senior economist Ryan Gedney with the state Department of Labor and Employment.

“Colorado is one of only 15 states to have returned to a pre-pandemic level of non-farm payroll employment so far,” said Gedney.

The state added 412,000 non-farm payroll jobs in the last year, as compared to the 375,000 lost in the early months of the pandemic in April and May of 2020. With the 12,300 jobs added in June, that represents a recovery of over 110%, he said.

The U.S. has recovered 98% of the jobs lost since the pandemic started.

The state’s jobless rate is moving ever closer to that of February 2020, when it was a record-low 2.8%. Colorado’s jobless rate ballooned to 11.8% in May 2020 before it began to fall.

Minnesota had the nation’s lowest unemployment rate in June with 1.8% and New Mexico had the highest at 4.9%. Colorado ranks 27th.

“Colorado ranks as the third fastest recovery, and really has been for the past several months,” Gedney said. “Colorado’s recovery and labor-force participation rate is ranked in the top three.”

The number of Coloradans with jobs increased by 8,200 in June, to a total of 3.25 million — a historic high. Its labor force participation increased to 69.5% in June — the second highest in the nation behind Nebraska.

The state’s employment-to-population ratio has climbed to 67.1%, its highest level since January 2009.

The U.S. employment-to-population ratio stood at 59.9% in June and its labor force participation fell to 62.2%.

In Colorado, the hospitality and leisure sector led the way in gains in June, adding 2,300 jobs, followed by information and educational and health services, each adding about 1,000 jobs. Financial activities and professional/business services, both shed jobs, 1,900 and 1,800 respectively.

“Dropping by 1,800 is a bit surprising, given that, especially from the professional-technical services aspect of that sub-sector, it has been by far really one of the strongest industries post pandemic,” Gedney said. “I do have expectation that could be revised down next month. Financial activities is tricky, as there can be a lot of volatility within financial activities month-to-month movements. Financial activity has been relatively flat this year.”

Some local-level factoids from the report:

• Pueblo had the highest unemployment rate of 5%. Boulder had the lowest at 2.8%, with Fort Collins close behind at 2.9%.
• Denver, Colorado Springs, Greeley and Grand Junction had rates between 3.2% and 3.6%.
• Huerfano County had the highest unemployment level at 5.7%, trailed by Pueblo (5%) and Las Animas (4.8%).