Adam in CO
08-21-2006, 05:43 PM
Finance, computer jobs drive up hiring in Colo.
State employment rises 3.2 percent over a year ago
Business analyst Julie Cameron was one of the 76,300 Coloradans who found employment in the state in the last year.
After being laid off as a senior business analyst at Molson Coors Brewing Co. last summer, the 43-year-old signed on with Remy Corp., a Denver-based employment agency, and now looks for cost savings in payroll and other computer systems at Jefferson County schools.
Hers is just one of the 12,000 jobs in professional and business services that Colorado employers added last year. According to a report issued Friday by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, the state's total employment is now 3.2 percent higher than a year ago, with 2,497,000 employed residents.
The new jobs were driven by a strong employer demand for finance and computer-service workers, said Kevin Clemens, branch manager at Robert Half International's Denver office, a company that matches skilled workers with employers.
Construction and tourism jobs also continued to grow, along with management and technical consulting jobs.
"What we're seeing is a very strong demand for skilled workers with the low unemployment rate," Clemens said. At the same time, Colorado's seasonally adjusted unemployment
rate rose two-tenths of a percentage point, to 4.7 percent. Cutbacks were typical for July, with seasonal declines in education driving large losses for the government sector, according to the report.
"Moderating job growth has pushed Colorado's unemployment rate back up to the level recorded in January," said Rick Grice, executive director of the Colorado labor department.
Nationally, the unemployment rate grew to 4.8 percent in July from 4.6 percent in June. Economists consider any unemployment rate of less than 5 percent to be "full employment," meaning basically that anyone who wants to work can find a job.
State employment rises 3.2 percent over a year ago
Business analyst Julie Cameron was one of the 76,300 Coloradans who found employment in the state in the last year.
After being laid off as a senior business analyst at Molson Coors Brewing Co. last summer, the 43-year-old signed on with Remy Corp., a Denver-based employment agency, and now looks for cost savings in payroll and other computer systems at Jefferson County schools.
Hers is just one of the 12,000 jobs in professional and business services that Colorado employers added last year. According to a report issued Friday by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, the state's total employment is now 3.2 percent higher than a year ago, with 2,497,000 employed residents.
The new jobs were driven by a strong employer demand for finance and computer-service workers, said Kevin Clemens, branch manager at Robert Half International's Denver office, a company that matches skilled workers with employers.
Construction and tourism jobs also continued to grow, along with management and technical consulting jobs.
"What we're seeing is a very strong demand for skilled workers with the low unemployment rate," Clemens said. At the same time, Colorado's seasonally adjusted unemployment
rate rose two-tenths of a percentage point, to 4.7 percent. Cutbacks were typical for July, with seasonal declines in education driving large losses for the government sector, according to the report.
"Moderating job growth has pushed Colorado's unemployment rate back up to the level recorded in January," said Rick Grice, executive director of the Colorado labor department.
Nationally, the unemployment rate grew to 4.8 percent in July from 4.6 percent in June. Economists consider any unemployment rate of less than 5 percent to be "full employment," meaning basically that anyone who wants to work can find a job.