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Colorado adds 5,800 jobs in July with strong private sector gains
ColoradoBiz Staff //August 21, 2026//
Courtesy of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.
Courtesy of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.
Colorado adds 5,800 jobs in July with strong private sector gains
ColoradoBiz Staff //August 21, 2026//
In Brief:
- Colorado employers added 5,800 nonfarm payroll jobs in July
- Private employers added 6,500 jobs while government lost 700
- Professional and business services gained about 2,000 jobs
- Average hourly earnings rose to $39.63 for private-sector workers
Colorado employers added 5,800 nonfarm payroll jobs in July while the state’s unemployment rate remained at 3.9%, according to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.
Private employers added 6,500 jobs while government employment declined by 700, bringing the state’s total nonfarm payroll employment to 2.97 million.
Professional and business services added about 2,000 jobs, education and health services gained about 1,800 and other services added about 1,500. No private-sector industry recorded a significant monthly decline.
Colorado’s labor force decreased by 4,300 people to 3.19 million. The labor force participation rate fell 0.1 percentage point to 65.5%, its lowest level since July 2020. The number of employed Coloradans fell by 4,500 to 3.06 million, while the number of unemployed people rose by 200 to 125,000.
The national unemployment rate decreased from 4.2% to 4.1% in July.
Colorado added 12,100 payroll jobs over the past year, a 0.4% increase compared with the national growth rate of 0.2%. Private-sector employment increased by 16,700 jobs while government employment declined by 4,600.
Education and health services led annual gains with about 15,500 jobs, followed by leisure and hospitality with about 9,000 and construction with about 5,600. Employment declined in information, financial activities, other services and manufacturing.
Average hourly earnings for Colorado private-sector workers increased from $38.91 to $39.63 over the year, compared with the national average of $37.62. The average workweek remained at 33.4 hours.
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