Springs-area unemployment rate posts biggest drop in 10 years
The Colorado Springs-area unemployment rate fell in March by the largest percentage decrease in a decade, while employers added jobs for the third time in five months — positive signs for the battered local labor market, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment reported Tuesday.
“This is quite an improvement no matter how you look at it. I didn’t expect this level of strength,” said Fred Crowley, senior economist for the Southern Colorado Economic Forum at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.
According to the Labor Department’s report:
• Unemployment declined to 9.7 percent in March, down from a revised 10.2 percent in February and down from 9.9 percent in March 2010. The 0.5 percentage point drop from February to March was the biggest since at least 2000.
• Area payrolls in March grew 0.2 percent from the same month a year earlier, adding 500 jobs from the previous month and 400 from a year earlier,. The month-to-month gain in jobs was the biggest since late 2007, just before the recession began.
• Last month’s local job gains were widespread; six of the 10 sectors measured by the state showed employment increases, including manufacturing and construction.
• Despite last month’s job market improvements, more than 30,000 local residents remained out of work in March and the number of jobs added last month restores only a fraction of the nearly 17,000 jobs lost during the past three years.
“Clearly, the economy is in a recovery mode after being at its worst late last year,” Crowley said. “It looks like the worst is behind us, but I don’t expect this level of improvement over the balance of the year. I expect the unemployment rate will end the year in the high 8 percent or low 9 percent range. The recovery still remains very fragile.”
Colorado’s unemployment rate dipped to 9.2 percent in March from 9.3 percent in February, despite sharp drops in jobless rates across much of the Front Range. In addition to the Springs, Boulder, Denver, Fort Collins and Greeley all saw a drop in unemployment of at least 0.5 percentage points.
However, job losses in rural areas mostly offset the gains along the Front Range. As a result, only 500 jobs were added statewide in March. Job increases in the health care, tourism and professional services industries largely were offset by losses in construction, financial services and information technology industries.
The Labor Department also reported the average work week for Coloradoans increased to 34 hours in March — 30 minutes longer than a year earlier. The average hourly wage rose 12 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $23.88 during the same period.
No similar data were available for Colorado Springs because of Labor Department computer problems.
