{"id":12,"date":"2026-05-07T11:34:53","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T11:34:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=12"},"modified":"2026-05-07T11:34:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T11:34:53","slug":"colorados-labor-force-shrinks-again-in-march-to-fourth-lowest-participation-rate-since-1976","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=12","title":{"rendered":"Colorado\u2019s labor force shrinks again in March to fourth-lowest participation rate since 1976"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Colorado\u2019s unemployment rate in March stayed put at 3.9%, where it\u2019s been since January, according to the latest report released Wednesday by the state Department of Labor and Unemployment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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That\u2019s lower than a year ago\u2019s 4.2%, and better than the U.S. rate of 4.3% in March.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But staying at 3.9% for three months hides other weaknesses in the state\u2019s job market data, including that there are fewer adults in the labor force. An estimated 26,192 Coloradans have stopped working or looking for work since December. The participation rate sank to 66.3% in March, the lowest since August 2020 and the fourth lowest in 50 years, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe persistent reduction in the size of the labor force, and more specifically around those employed, is concerning but we have not witnessed an accompanying increase in (unemployment) claims and therefore may assume that the decline is associated with natural attrition in the current \u2018low-hire, low-fire\u2019 environment,\u201d Timothy Wonhof, director of the state labor department\u2019s office of labor market information, said in an email.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have seen comparable over-the-year declines several times since the series began in 1976, which would better account for any changes in seasonal patterns. However, labor force participation in March was the lowest rate in the series history, outside of the COVID-19 pandemic,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The number of job openings has been in decline as employers either found enough workers or figured out how to operate on fewer employees.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to an analysis by economist Brian Lewandowski, executive director of University of Colorado\u2019s Business Research Division, 40 states saw a decline in their labor force participation rate in the past year, while 27 recorded a decrease in the number. Five states, including Colorado are near their historically lowest labor force participation rates. Four states\u00a0 \u2014\u00a0 Delaware, Idaho, Maryland, Wyoming \u2014 are at their lowest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 4th-lowest in the series is surprising,\u201d he said in an email. \u201cI have generally been pointing to demographic shifts (i.e., retirements, aging population), slow net migration, and the slowing job market.\u201d<\/p>\n

The state\u2019s labor force is still about 3.2 million people, and near its peak in fall 2024. But a lot has changed in the past 18 months. The state\u2019s population took a hit last year, as more folks moved to other states than moved in (overall population still grew to more than 6 million for the first time, thanks to more babies and immigrants).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s decline is probably due to demographics, Broomfield economist Gary Horvath said.<\/p>\n

\u201cDemographics come into play \u2014 baby boomers are aging out, and there are fewer young people\u201d and lower fertility rates, Horvath said in an email. \u201cThat would lower the eligible population that could be in the workforce. They may or may not want to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The number of working men of all ages has also been shrinking. It could be due to the cost or availability of childcare, issues with assistance programs or insurance, or just the continued mismatch of job seekers to job openings.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As businesses pulled back in the past year to deal with capricious tariffs, federal funding cuts and other business uncertainty, business leaders surveyed by the University of Colorado\u2019s Leeds School of Business have had a pretty negative outlook for several quarters.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Horvath also pointed out business concerns of overregulation and Colorado losing its competitive edge may really be causing some of the state\u2019s tech entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and business leaders to make good on their threats to leave.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter seeing today\u2019s jobs report, I think it is appropriate for the business community to talk about the business climate,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

March sees job growth, at least preliminarily<\/h2>\n

While the latest data shows employers added 1,400 nonfarm payroll jobs in March, the number is preliminary and will be revised. If March follows the trend of the past year, that number will be reduced.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what happened for February, which lost 7,500 jobs, or 300 more than originally announced. January gained 1,300 jobs, which was much lower than the original estimate of 6,600. And last year, every month was revised lower for a seasonally adjusted loss of 11,700 jobs in 2025, the first year outside of the pandemic to have job losses in 15 years.<\/p>\n

By comparison, the U.S. gained 116,000 jobs last year, which is considered very flat at a 0.1% increase.<\/p>\n

Some highlights of March, however, showed that the Greeley and Fort Collins areas saw employment grow over the year, unlike the rest of the state. Boulder had the biggest dip with a 1.2% decline in nonfarm employment.<\/p>\n

The educational and health services industries gained the most jobs, up about 2,200, followed by leisure and hospitality, up 1,800 jobs. Between February and March, the number of construction jobs fell by 100, which is pretty flat, but over the year, saw a dip in March but over the year, the industry had the second largest private-sector job gains, up by 1,700 jobs.<\/p>\n

Wonhof said, \u201cIt is worth noting that the construction industry has been more active in Colorado for many months due to Colorado\u2019s unseasonably warm winter.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Hello world!<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The state\u2019s unemployment rate remains at 3.9%. Fewer are unemployed and employed, which is impacting the size of Colorado\u2019s labor force.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy"],"yoast_head":"\nColorado\u2019s labor force shrinks again in March to fourth-lowest participation rate since 1976 - Colorado Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=12\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Colorado\u2019s labor force shrinks again in March to fourth-lowest participation rate since 1976 - Colorado Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The state\u2019s unemployment rate remains at 3.9%. 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