On April 21, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its monthly wage and salary employment data for Colorado. Job growth for Q1 2015 was 3.1%, or 74,800 jobs, greater than Q1 2014. The Q1 2015 growth is down slightly from the 2014 annual average of 78,900 jobs; however it is in line with the 2015 cber. co forecast that calls for an increase of 73,000 to 79,000 jobs, or job growth at a rate of 3.0% to 3.2%.
The preliminary March 2015 Colorado employment was 68,900 jobs greater than the March 2014 value. The year-over-previous-year increase for February was 80,800 jobs. It was 74,600 jobs for January.
The lower level of growth in March does not necessarily signify a downward trend. Most likely it is a reflection of volatility related to changes in the extractive industries.
About 67.0% of total jobs added were in the Health Care; Accommodations and Food Services; Construction; Profesional, Scientific, and Technical Services (PST); and Manufacturing sectors.
Approximately 21.3% of all jobs added were in Leisure and Hospitality; however, the BLS estimate model has most likely overstated this YTD contribution.
About 9.9% of total jobs added were in the PST, Manufacturing, and Information sectors. These sectors are the source of primary and advanced technology jobs.
Nationally, average employment for Q1 2015 is about 2,265,133 jobs greater than Q1 2014 employment. While this rate of growth is solid, the Q1 value is less than the average number of jobs added during 2014 (2,313,033). A brutal winter in parts of the country prevented employment and output during the first quarter from being stronger.
The cber.co forecast for U.S. job growth in 2015 is 2,600,000 workers. Stronger job growth is expected in the second half of the year.
