Phil Castle, The Business Times

The unemployment rate has retreated in Mesa County even as employers continue to struggle to fill job openings.

The seasonally unadjusted jobless rate dropped six-tenths of a point to 6.3 percent in July, according to the latest estimates from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.

Celina Kirnberger, employment services supervisor at the Mesa County Workforce Center in Grand Junction, welcomed what’s typically a decline in unemployment from June to July.

But the labor market remains tighter even than the lower rate suggests, Kirnberger said. “Employers are looking to hire people, but it’s taking them longer to find people.”

The jobless rate usually jumps in June as high school and college graduates join the work force, then declines through the summer with an increase in seasonal employment, she said.

For July, Mesa County payrolls increased 432 to 71,152. The number of people counted among those unsuccessfully looking for work decreased 394 to 4,808. The labor force, which includes the employed and unemployed, edged up 38 to 75,960.

Compared to a year ago, payrolls have increased 2,581. The ranks of the unemployed have decreased 524. The labor force has grown 2,057. 

The gains reflect in part the effects last year of the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions, but also increased labor demand, Kirnberger said.

The number of job orders posted at the Mesa County has nearly doubled on a year-over-year basis, she said. For July, 1,030 orders were posted, up from 590 for the same month last year. Through the first seven months of 2021, 6,597 orders were posted. That’s up from 3,452 for the same span in 2020.

For July 2021, job orders sought applicants for a total of 1,881 job openings. That’s up from 1,123 for the same month last year, she said.

Some people might have been reluctant to return to work in part because of a $300 federal stipend added to weekly unemployment benefits. Kirnberger said the stipend is set to expire Sept. 6. That could make a difference in the number of applicants, although probably not a substantial one.

New filings for unemployment benefits in Mesa County increased from 389 in June to 480 in July, Kirnberger said. That compares to an estimated 790 filings in July 2020. For the first seven months of 2021, 3,307 new filings were reported. That’s about a third of what was estimated as 9,880 filings for the same span in 2020. “We’re definitely in a better place than we were,” she said.

Looking ahead to the remainder of the year, Kirnberger said she expects the jobless rate to continue to decline through summer and fall, then tick up when colder weather affects seasonal employment.

Seasonally unadjusted unemployment rates also decreased in neighboring Western Colorado counties in July: down six-tenths of a point to 5.1 percent in Delta County, 5 percent in Garfield County, 5.2 percent in Montrose County and 5.3 percent in Rio Blanco County.

The statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate edged down a tenth of a point to 6.1 percent as nonfarm payrolls grew 14,800 from June to July.

Employment increased 5,000 in professional and business services, 4,300 in leisure and hospitality and 1,000 in education and health services. Construction payrolls decreased 1,600.

Since July 2020, nonfarm payrolls have increased 140,500. Over the past 15 months, Colorado has regained 290,400 of the 375,800 jobs lost between February and April 2020 because of the pandemic and related restrictions.

The largest employment increases over the past year have occurred in the leisure and hospitality; professional and business services; and trade, transportation and utilities sectors. 

The average workweek for employees on private, nonfarm payrolls lengthened seven-tenths of an hour over the past year to 33.9 hours. Average hourly earnings increased $1.33 to $31.84.