Denver Colorado Jobs Added in October

Even though the statewide unemployment rate continued to grow, more Denver Colorado jobs were added last month.

During October, Colorado's unemployment rate increased from 8.2 percent to 8.4 percent, which is lower than the national average of 9.6 percent. The Denver area had an 8.1 percent unemployment rate during September.

The Denver-Aurora-Broomfield area had a total non-farm employment of 1,192,100 workers during October, which is up from 1,191,500 workers during September and only a .2 percent decrease from last year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

When it comes to job gains, the government industry benefited the most over the month, adding 2,100 workers.

That was followed by the education and health services industry's gain of 1,300 jobs; the trade, transportation, and utilities industry's increase of 600 jobs; and the mining, logging, and construction industry's gain of 100 jobs.

Only four industries managed to see a yearly increase in employment during October. The education and health services industry experienced the biggest growth, increasing by 3.8 percent to 143,900 workers.

That was followed by the leisure and hospitality industry, which increased by 1.1 percent; the professional and business services industry, which grew by .8 percent; and the other services industry, which increased by .2 percent.

The leisure and hospitality industry accounted for the majority of the Denver area's drop in monthly employment, losing 2,100 jobs during October.

The financial activities industry decreased by 500 jobs, while the professional and business services industry declined by 400 jobs; the information and other services industries lost 200 jobs each; and the manufacturing industry dropped 100 jobs.

The manufacturing industry lost the most jobs over the year, as its workforce dropped by 4.2 percent to 49,000 jobs.

Other industries that saw an over-the-year decrease in employment include:

• Mining, logging, and construction by 4.1 percent to 72,000 jobs
• Information by 2.2 percent to 44,500 jobs
• Financial activities by 1.9 percent to 89,700 jobs
• Trade, transportation, and utilities by .8 percent to 226,900 jobs
• Government by .2 percent to 178,600 jobs