Overall unemployment rate moved down to 4.0% with the biggest shift in Transportation & Utilities, which lost 6,500 roles, based on the most recently available information published in March 2022.

Total employment in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO market declined by 16,086 jobs in January and the unemployment rate decreased compared to the prior month by 20 bps to 4.0%. The national unemployment rate increased by 74 bps over the same time to 4.4%.

  • Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO unemployment rate is 43 bps below the national rate which is a positive sign.
  • Unemployment in the market is 300 bps below the unemployment rate in the market last year at this time, which is a positive.
  • Average wages (per hour) grew in January versus prior month by 10.1% and are up compared to last year at this time in the market.
Month over Month Unemployment Change
Year over Year Unemployment Change
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Unemployment January 2022

For key employment segments of the market, total jobs declined by -1.4%. Key sectors include:

  • Business Services: 291,600; -5,800
  • Transportation & Utilities: 288,600; -6,500
  • Government: 196,000; -4,600
  • Education & Healthcare: 191,600; -1,100
  • Restaurants & Hotels: 155,900; -800
  • Financial Services: 116,300; -1,300
  • Construction, Mining: 106,700; -1,200
  • Manufacturing: 70,600; -100
  • Other Jobs: 58,900; -300
  • IT & Development: 53,300; -200
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Unemployment by Industry January 2022

Data is based on the most recent 12 months available, through January 2022 (Data published March 2022 and reports created on March 18, 2022).  Source: Government data agency and locally acquired statistics.

Note: All reported data is not seasonally adjusted.