Phil Castle, The Business Times

The monthly unemployment rate has retreated for a second consecutive month in Mesa County even as labor demand grows.

Lindsay Bullock, manager of the Mesa County Workforce Center in Grand Junction,  said job openings afford opportunities and there are qualified applicants to fill them. “It’s a good mix.”

The seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate fell four-tenths of a point to 3.3 percent in September, according to the latest estimates from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. With declines in each of the last two months, the jobless rate has dropped to its lowest level since it stood at 2.9 percent in May. At this time last year, the rate was even lower at 2.7 percent.

Between August and September, Mesa County payrolls edged up 201 to 75,494. The number of people counted among those unsuccessfully looking for work decreased 353 to 2,537. The labor force, which includes the employed and unemployed, shrank 152 to 78,031.

Over the past year, payrolls edged down 68 even as the ranks of the unemployed increased 420. The labor force grew 352.

Bullock welcomed the drop in the unemployment rate between August and September, but also hailed another month of increases in the number of job orders posted at the Mesa County Workforce Center.

Job orders increased 439 to 1,572. Job orders have topped 1,000 for the past two months, she said. For September 2022, 772 orders were posted.

Through the first three quarters of 2023, 8,000 orders were posted, Bullock said. That’s a 7.5 percent increase over the 7,441 orders posted during the same span in 2022.

Labor demand remains strongest in the health care sector, although several large projects have bolstered demand in construction, she said.

Looking ahead, Bullock said she expects seasonal trends to produce something of a mixed bag. Landscaping and other outdoor work could slow as winter weather approaches. But many retailers increase hiring for the coming holiday shopping season. The monthly unemployment rate could tick up or down, but she doesn’t anticipate any big changes.

Over the longer term, Bullock said she’s encouraged by the number of new businesses coming to Mesa County and the jobs they’ll create. A new Costco Wholesale operation in Grand Junction is projected to create 275 net new jobs.

Seasonally unadjusted jobless rates also retreated in neighboring Western Colorado counties in September — down four-tenths of a point to 3.1 percent in Montrose County and 2.8 percent in Rio Blanco County and two-tenths of a point to 3.5 percent in Delta County and 2.7 percent in Garfield County.

The statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate edged up a tenth of a point to 3.2 percent.

The number of people counted among those unsuccessfully looking for work in Colorado increased 3,600 between August and September to 103,500. Nonfarm payrolls increased 1,500 between August and September as the addition of 2,100 government jobs more than offset the loss of 600 jobs in the private sector.

Over the past year, nonfarm payrolls increased 40,000 with the biggest gains in the leisure and hospitality, professional and business services and education and health services sectors. Payrolls declined in the financial activities, construction and information sectors as well as the trade, transportation and utilities sector.

The average workweek for Colorado employees on private, nonfarm payrolls shortened a tenths of an hour to 33.4 hours. Average hourly earnings increased $1.31 to $35.75.