DENVER — Today, Governor Jared Polis and the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment announced that Colorado’s unemployment rate has dropped to 3.7% in March. Strong growth in the labor force participation rate and employment-population ratio for three straight months puts Colorado as the fifth fastest recovery in participation rate in the nation through February. In February, Colorado had the third highest participation rate among states.
“I am excited that even more Coloradans have good jobs, our economic recovery continues to outpace the nation, and we will keep prioritizing making sure people can hold on to more of their hard earned money,” said Governor Polis.
Colorado’s total labor force in March increased by 12,300, growing to over 3.2 million people on payrolls. The share of Coloradans participating in the labor force improved to 68.9%, and the state continues to experience a faster rate of recovery in participation compared to the rest of the U.S. It took less time for Colorado to reach a rate of 3.7 percent than in previous challenging economic environments, and the state’s employment-population ratio improved to 66.4 percent in March just slightly below pre-pandemic levels.
Colorado’s job recovery continues to substantially outpace the U.S. with a rate of job growth of 4.9 percent over the past year, compared to the U.S. rate of 4.5 percent.