If you’re looking for a job in Colorado, don’t look at the data. Prospects may be depressing.

The data shows the number of job openings in the state is half what it was three years ago, when the post-pandemic labor shortage reached a peak, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The situation is very different today as an uncertain economy has companies putting hiring on hold. Unemployment is up, job openings are down.

But there still seems to be an enormous number of job openings in the state. The monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics put Colorado’s open jobs number at a preliminary estimate of 136,000 in June (and down from 286,000 peak in late 2022). JOLTS is based on a rotating sample of surveys of about 600 employers.

A repor

See Full Page