After climbing for most of 2025, Colorado’s November unemployment rate fell under the 4% threshold for the first time in over a year.

Colorado’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped by two-tenths of a percentage point to 3.9% from September to November, landing below 4% for the first time since February 2024. According to the survey of households conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of unemployed individuals in Colorado shrunk by 8,400 during this time.

The state’s falling unemployment rate is a significant change of pace for Colorado. Monthly rates published by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment either rose or remained stagnant for 15 consecutive months beginning in 2024, reaching a high of 4.8% in March 2025 — the highest unemployment rate seen in the state since 2021. The rate saw its first drop of the year in June and has continued to decrease at a moderate pace since.

Meanwhile, the national unemployment rate moved in the opposite direction, increasing by two-tenths of a percentage to 4.6% from September to November.

Colorado sees positive job growth

As of November 2025, Colorado’s rate of job growth over the past year is 0.8%, slightly above the 0.6% national rate. This is largely thanks to the state’s positive job gain in November, with employers reporting 2,700 new nonfarm payroll jobs for a total of over 3 million jobs, according to a survey of business establishments.

Transportation, warehousing and utilities added the most jobs at roughly 1,600. Two of the largest gains also came from the private sector and government jobs, which rose by 1,500 and 1,200 jobs, respectively. One private industry sector that saw significant job losses was the professional and business services sector, which lost roughly 1,200 jobs.

Compared to one year ago, nonfarm payroll jobs have increased by a net total of 24,600, with the private sector adding 18,300 jobs and the government adding 6,300 jobs, according to the department. The largest job gains in the private sector over the last year were jobs in education and health services (roughly 12,500), leisure and hospitality (roughly 5,200) and information (roughly 3,200). Meanwhile, payroll jobs in the construction industry shrunk by 2,400.

Paired with the drop in unemployment is a slightly smaller labor force, which fell by 9,400 individuals to 67% in November while the U.S. labor force rate increased to 62.5%. This marks the state’s lowest labor force participation rate since October 2020, according to the department.