Phil Castle, The Business Times

After two months of declines, the unemployment rate seesawed back up in Mesa County as payrolls decreased and the number of people unsuccessfully looking for work increased.

The market reflects in part a gap between the skills employers want in new hires and those applicants offer, said Tabi Britt, employment services supervisor at the Mesa County Workforce Center in Grand Junction. “This creates difficulty on both sides of the employment equation. Employers struggle to find qualified applicants and job seekers struggle to keep up with qualifications.”

The situation isn’t unique to Mesa County, Britt said, but rather national in scope.

The seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate rose a half point between April and May to 4.1 percent. The rate had retreated a total of 1.1 points in March and April. At this time last year, the rate was a full point lower at 3.1 percent.

Between April and May 2024, Mesa County payrolls decreased 679 to 72,727. The number of people counted among those unsuccessfully looking for work increased 352 to 3,072. The labor force, which includes the employed and unemployed, shrank 327 to 75,799.

Over the past year, payrolls decreased 1,293 while the ranks of the unemployed increased 695. The labor force declined 598.

Britt said unemployment rates typically dip in Mesa County near the end of the first quarter, and the drop could have occurred earlier this year.

Labor demand persists, though, as measured by the number of job orders posted at the Mesa County Workforce Center. Britt said 842 job orders were posted in May, up 2.8 percent from the same month a year ago. A total of 4,531 orders were posted through the first five months of 2024, up nearly 21 percent from the same span in 2023 as a result of a strong start in January and February of this year.

As for addressing skills gaps, Britt said some employers are turning to a skills-based hiring approach rather than relying on traditional recruitment criteria. The Mesa County Workforce Center offers programs to help job seekers gain the skills and experience they need.

Looking ahead to the second half of 2024, Britt said there’s insufficient information to offer any specific indicators of what’s ahead.

Seasonally unadjusted unemployment rates similarly increased in neighboring western Colorado counties in June — up four-tenths of a point to 3.9 percent in Delta County and 3.7 percent in Montrose County, up a half point to 4 percent in Rio Blanco County and eight-tenths of a point to 3.6 percent in Garfield County.

The statewide seasonally adjusted jobless rate edged up a tenth of a point to 3.8 percent.

According to the latest results of household surveys, the number of employed people in Colorado fell 6,300 while the number of people counted among those unsuccessfully looking for work increased 3,400. The labor participation rate — the proportion of the population employed or looking for work — slipped a tenth of a point to 67.9 percent.

According to the results of separate business surveys, nonfarm payrolls grew 9,800 between April and May. Employment increased 3,700 in professional and business services, 2,100 in leisure and hospitality and 1,300 in construction. Government payrolls increased 1,900.

Over the past year, nonfarm payrolls grew 55,400, Employment increased 16,300 in educational and health services, 9,300 in professional and business services and 6,600 in leisure and hospitality. Those gains more than offset a decline of 6,000 jobs in the trade, transportation and utilities sector as well as 2,300 fewer jobs in both the construction and information sectors.

The average workweek for Colorado employees on private, nonfarm payrolls lengthened over the past year six-tenths of an hour to 33.5 hours. Average hourly earnings rose $2.31 to $37.77.