The Bureau of Labor Statistics last week released employment information on all states for May 2012.The seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for Colorado during May was 8.1 percent.
According to the BLS press release:
Regional and state unemployment rates were little changed in May. Eighteen states recorded unemployment rate increases, 14 states and the District of Columbia posted rate decreases, and 18 states had no change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Forty-nine states and the District of Columbia registered unemployment rate decreases from a year earlier, while only one state experienced an increase. The national jobless rate, at 8.2 percent, was essentially unchanged from April, and 0.8 percentage point lower than May 2011.Colorado was one of the 49 states that reported decreases in the unemployment rate, year over year. The seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in Colorado fell from 8.4 percent during May 2011 to 8.1 percent during May 2012.
Colorado's unemployment ranking has worsened somewhat compared to other states. Last December, for example, Colorado had the 25th-best unemployment rate, but has since fallen to 32nd-best
Colorado's unemployment rate remains below that of the nation -barely - continuing a trend that has been in place since 2005.
The graph shows a comparison between the two rates since 2006:
The unemployment rate in Colorado, seasonally adjusted, rose to 8.1 percent during May from April's rate of 7.9 percent. The rate had been flat at 7.8 percent for January, February and March of this year. The national rate rose to 8.2 percent from April's rate of 8.1 percent.
For the most part, Colorado remains in the middle of the pack when it comes to statewide unemployment rates, but has seen its rate rise above more states in recent months. At the regional level, however, Colorado contains some metro areas that have unemployment rate well below the national rate, such as the Boulder area and the Fort Collins area.
The trend however suggests that in the near term at least, Colorado's unemployment rate is now no longer significantly below the national rate, reversing the trend that was seen during 2009 through 2011.
