Mesa County unemployment was higher year over year for the second quarter.

That was one of three items headlining the August 2025 Mesa County Economic Update, which Colorado Mesa University’s Davis School of Business released Aug. 12.

The economic update’s data is compiled and analyzed quarterly by CMU economics professor Nathan Perry, and the August 2025 update includes data from the recently completed second quarter.

Perry listed the primary highlights as: the county’s rise in unemployment; continued gains in healthcare jobs; and the absence to date of tariff-induced inflation.

Expounding on the unemployment, Perry said, “Mesa County unemployment continues to rise, estimated at 3,757, which is 237 more people unemployed than the same time last year. This can be seen in the quarterly unemployment rate, with Mesa County’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate coming in at 4.9 percent compared to Colorado (4.8 percent) and the U.S. (4.2 percent).”

A few other items singled out in the report’s Local Economic Indicators section are:

• Mesa County sales taxes are up slightly through May at 0.51 percent, while Grand Junction sales taxes have fallen by 0.5 percent.
• New business-entity filings are at 1,940 through July, on pace to surpass the 2,410 number in 2024.
• Grand Junction Regional Airport enplanements rose by 4.05 percent, with Q1 2025 enplanements at 66,144.

In the report’s Mesa County Industry Trends section, Perry said recent Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages data “shows a strong trend in healthcare job gains. Healthcare has added the most jobs of any industry in Mesa County over the last few years.”

The QCEW data is from the fourth quarter of 2024 and shows job and wage gains compared to 2023’s fourth quarter. Healthcare gained 794 jobs, and Perry said the sector has seen a steady trend of employment growth after falling during COVID-19. Public administration (305 jobs) and transportation and warehousing (201) also saw large gains.

The biggest job losses were in manufacturing with 180 fewer, and finance and insurance with minus-128.

The largest wage contributor to Mesa County for 2024’s fourth quarter was healthcare at $240,904,338.

Perry’s tariffs analysis, as of Aug. 7, is: “Reciprocal tariffs have been imposed that are intended to reshape global trade imbalances and generate tariff income. According to the Yale Budget Lab, the current average effective tariff rate is now 18.3 percent, which is the highest since 1934. Thus far, the gloomy inflation predictions from many economists have not played out. However, it will take several months for the full inflationary impact of tariffs to be known.”

To view the complete report, go online to:

www.coloradomesa.edu/business/documents/mesa-county-economic-newsletter-august-2025.pdf