Phil Castle, The Business Times

The unemployment rate continues to decrease in Mesa County along with the number of people counted among those unsuccessfully looking for work.

Curtis Englehart, director of the Mesa County Workforce Center in Grand Junction, expects labor conditions to further improve as seasonal hiring picks up and coronavirus pandemic restrictions ease. “I do still feel optimistic as we’re going into the warmer weather.”

According to the latest estimates from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, the seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate fell to 7.2 percent in March, down four-tenths of a point from a revised 7.6 percent for February

The jobless rate has dropped a total of eight-tenths of a point since hitting 8 percent in January. At this time last year, the rate stood at 6.3 percent as the pandemic and related restrictions began to affect the labor market.

For March 2021, Mesa County payrolls actually declined 87 to 70,086. But the number of people counted among those unsuccessfully looking for work decreased more — 289 to 5,466. The labor force, which includes the employed and unemployed, slipped 376 to 75,552.

Compared to a year ago, payrolls have decreased 102 as the ranks of the unemployed have increased 612. The labor force has grown 510.

Englehart said he’s hopeful payrolls and the labor force will soon resume upward trends.

There’s a signal that could happen in an increase in job orders posted at the Mesa County Workforce Center, he said.

For March, 871 orders were posted. That’s a gain of 48.6 percent over the 586 orders posted the same month last year. For the first quarter of 2021, 2,292 orders were posted. That’s an increase of 59.5 percent over the 1,437 orders posted during the same span in 2020.

Labor demand remains strongest in the health care sector, Englehart said. But there also are job openings in manufacturing, construction and office administration.

Additional money in benefits could play a role in sidelining some of the unemployed from re-entering the work force, he said.

But other factors could bolster hiring for restaurants and other businesses, he said The Free to Choose initiative under way in Mesa County enables businesses to increase customer capacity. “It feels like we are finally coming out of this.”

Seasonally unadjusted unemployment rates also retreated in neighboring Western Colorado counties in March: down a tenth of a point to 6 percent in Garfield County, down three-tenths of a point to 6.3 percent in Montrose County and 7.1 percent in Rio Blanco County and down a half point to 6.6 percent in Delta County.

The statewide seasonally adjusted jobless rate remained unchanged at 6.4 percent although nonfarm payrolls increased 6,600. Business and professional services accounted for nearly half the gain in payrolls. The leisure and hospitality sector lost 1,100 jobs.

Since May, Colorado has gained back 229,600 of the 375,000 jobs lost between February and April 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic and related restrictions. 

Over the past year, payrolls have declined 133,900, with the leisure and hospitality sector accounting for almost half those job losses.

The average workweek for employees on private, nonfarm payrolls shortened four-tenths of an hour over the past year to 33 hours. Average hourly earnings increased 29 cents to $31.30.