Colorado’s economy is currently doing that fun little trick where the dashboard lights are flashing, the engine is coughing, and somebody from the state economic-development crowd is pointing out that the radio still works.
The Colorado Sun reports that employers added an estimated 5,800 jobs in July, while Colorado’s unemployment rate remained stuck at 3.9% for the seventh straight month. That sounds tolerable until you get to the fine print. June’s initially reported 4,800 new jobs was revised down to just 1,900, the labor force shrank again, and statewide job growth over the past year was a sleepy 0.4%. Meanwhile, Mission Foods is closing its Pueblo tortilla plant and 90 workers are expected to lose their jobs by October 27.
And yet, yes, people are hiring. Ursa Major has 120 openings after expanding its rocket-motor manufacturing operation in Longmont, and Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies has more than 60 Colorado openings. Those are real opportunities for real people, and job seekers should absolutely pursue them. But a couple of bright spots do not magically turn economic sputtering into economic horsepower.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Colorado added an estimated 5,800 jobs in July. Before anyone orders the commemorative banner, remember that June’s job-growth number got revised from 4,800 down to 1,900. Apparently even the good news comes with a return policy.
- Unemployment remains at 3.9%, but the labor force is shrinking. Colorado lost another 4,300 working-age participants from the labor force in July, pushing participation to its lowest level since July 2020. Keeping the unemployment rate steady because fewer people are participating is not exactly the sort of economic miracle you carve into granite.
- There are legitimate openings worth chasing. Ursa Major says it has 120 jobs available, while Terumo BCT has more than 60 Colorado openings and is using internships and a new supply-chain rotation program to build workers into long-term employees. If you are looking, look. Opportunity does not become fake simply because the broader economy is weak.
- But getting hired is apparently its own obstacle course. Terumo says openings can draw hundreds of applicants, while employers still struggle to find people with the exact skills and experience they want. Colorado’s official job board listed more than 150,000 openings Friday, but only about one-third were actually located in Colorado. Nothing says “robust local opportunity” quite like scrolling through jobs three states away.
- Then there is Pueblo. Mission Foods plans to close its plant there, eliminating 90 jobs, while roughly 100 workers had already been waiting for recall from an earlier layoff, according to the union president quoted by the Sun. That is the other Colorado economy, the one that does not show up at ribbon cuttings with oversized scissors.
My Bottom Line
This is the part Colorado’s political and economic-development class needs to understand: “There are job openings” is not the same statement as “Colorado has a healthy job market.” One is a fact about individual employers. The other is a judgment about whether ordinary people across this state can find stable work that matches their skills, pays enough to live here, and exists somewhere within reasonable reach of their families.
Ursa Major expanding here is good news. Terumo investing in workers is good news. I hope both hire every qualified Coloradan they can find. But if you are the worker in Pueblo watching your plant close, a rocket-motor job in Longmont may as well be on the moon. Economic policy cannot simply count openings, sprinkle tax incentives around the Front Range, cut a ribbon and declare victory.
Colorado job growth is crawling. Previous estimates are being revised downward. The labor force is shrinking. Employers say they cannot find the right workers while workers say they cannot get employers to call them back. That is not a victory lap. That is a system with some pretty obvious friction, and the people running this state should spend less time polishing the press release and more time asking why.
A healthy Colorado economy is not measured by how many announcements come out of Denver. It is measured by whether a welder in Pueblo, a machinist in Greeley, a young family in Grand Junction, or a kid coming out of community college can find a job they can qualify for, get to, build a life around, and afford to keep. Scattered hiring is encouraging. It is also not the same damn thing as prosperity.
Source: The Colorado Sun
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