Mesa County jobless rate holds steady

Phil Castle, The Business Times

Even as statistics reflect a steady labor market in Mesa County, Curtis Englehart gleans from first-hand observation what he considers gradual improvement.

Curtis Englehart
Curtis Englehart

“It just seems like there’s a lot of confidence right now in the labor market,” said Englehart, director of the Mesa County Workforce Center in Grand Junction.
According to the latest estimates from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, the seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate held steady in October at 3.6 percent in Mesa County.
The latest jobless rate remains 1.3 points higher than May, when the rate dropped to its lowest level since 2007. At this time last year, the rate stood at 3.4 percent.
Englehart said he’s encouraged by other numbers, including a growing labor force, increasing job orders posted at the workforce center and shrinking claims for unemployment benefits.
For October, Mesa County payrolls increased 317 to 74,100 The number of people counted among those unsuccessfully looking for work increased 25 to 2,750. The overall labor force, which includes the employed and unemployed, grew 342 to 76,860.
Over the past year, payrolls have increased 1,217 — or nearly 1.7 percent. The ranks of the unemployed have increased 176. The labor force has grown 1,393, more than 1.8 percent.
Labor demand as measured by the number of job orders posted at the workforce center edged up in October with 626 orders, 19 more than the same month last year. Through the first 10 months of 2018, 7,107 job orders were posted. That’s up 10.6 percent from the same span in 2017.
Labor demand remains spread out among industry sectors, Englehart said, among them construction, health care, office administration and transportation. Seasonal hiring in the retail sector has been more pronounced this year, he said, with the prospect of increased holiday shopping associated with an improving economy.
Job openings continue to outpace job hunters, although more people are moving to Mesa County, he said. That means employers must tout their work cultures and benefits to compete for applicants.
For October, 180 initial claims for unemployment benefits were filed in Mesa County, up six from the same month last year. Through the first 10 months of 2018, 1,644 claims were filed. That’s a drop of more than 6.7 percent from the same span in 2017.
Englehart said he expects what’s usually a seasonal spike in the unemployment rate in Mesa County to occur again in January. But the increase likely will be less pronounced, he said, as the labor market gradually improves. “I expect that to continue in 2019.”
Seasonally unadjusted unemployment rates rose in neighboring Western Colorado counties in October: up a tenth of a point to 
3 percent in Garfield County and 3.2 percent in Montrose County, up two-tenths to 3.4 percent in Delta County and four-tenths to 
4.4 percent in Rio Blanco County.
The statewide seasonally adjusted jobless rate edged up another tenth of a point to 3.2 percent as the number of people looking for work exceeded those who reported themselves as employed.
Nonfarm payrolls increased 4,800 between September and October with the biggest gains in the professional and business services; leisure and hospitality; and trade, transportation and utilities sectors.
Over the past year, the Colorado unemployment rate has crept up two-tenths of a point even as nonfarm payrolls have swelled 72,000. The largest employment gains have occurred in the professional and business services; leisure and hospitality; and trade, transportation and utilities sectors.
The average workweek for employees on private, nonfarm payrolls has decreased over the past year a half hour to 33.4 hours. Average hourly earnings have increased over the past year $1.27 — more than 4.5 percent — to $29.22.