Huerfano unemployment rate decreases 2 points while local labor force increases

by William T. Beverly, Ph.D.
HUERFANO- While unfortunately still ranking among the top six counties in unemployment in Colorado, the Huerfano County unemployment rate decreased to 11.0% in April 2011 according to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. These numbers are down from 13.0% in March 2011 and also better than the 12.4% reported last year in April of 2010.
At the same time, the Huerfano County labor force has increased to 3,379 potential workers, from 3,366 in March and 3,334 in April of 2010. This could mean hopeful news for the county economy because more workers are present in the county and a higher percentage of them appear to be employed.
Let’s hope this good luck continues. According to Ellen Golombek, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, “The increase in payroll jobs and decrease in the unemployment rate is encouraging news.” “We would like to see these trends continue for several months before reading too much into the numbers.”
The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment recently reported that while government payroll jobs declined by 100; jobs in the private sector increased by 2,300. While the Colorado unemployment rate decreased four-tenths of a percentage point to 8.8% based on household survey results, the national unemployment rate increased from 8.8 to 9.0 % over the same period.
Over the year, the Colorado unemployment rate is down two-tenths of one percentage point from 9.0 % in April 2010 compared to the national unemployment rate, which declined from 9.8 to 9.0 % from April 2010 to 2011. At the same time it should be noted that the number of Coloradans participating in the labor force declined 10,100, total employment declined 4,800 and the number of unemployed decreased 5,300. The unemployment rate, labor force, labor force participation, total employment and the number of unemployed are based on a survey of households.