COLORADO’S LABOR FORCE THREE
MONTHS INTO COVID-19
The impacts of COVID-19 have not been equally felt across the labor market and certain
business models have been disrupted significantly more than others. As expected, restaurants,
large event venues, hotels and other personal services have been severely impacted.
This range in impacts across industries, is also reflected in changes across different groups
within the labor market. Women and those with education levels lower than a college
degree have been disproportionately negatively impacted.
The following series of charts show the impacts of COVID-19 on the Colorado labor force
between February and May 2020, reflecting the month prior to the start of the pandemic and the
latest available monthly data broken down into: Gender, Age, and Educational Attainment. 1
1
The underlying data sources include: The Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED), Labor Market Information (LMI) Gateway –
Colorado, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and IPUMS Current Population Survey (CPS) harmonized microdata.
KEY FINDINGS
267,000
COLORADANS
88,000
MEN & 179,000
WOMEN
February 2020 to May 2020,
267,000 Coloradans dropped
out of the labor force, as the
labor force participation rate
dropped 69.4% → 63.6%
List of Charts
Monthly History Since 2005 By Gender By Age (Male) By Age (Female)
Figure 1 – Labor Force
Participation Rate
Figure 2 –
Unemployment Rate
Figure 3 – Labor Force
Participation Rate
Figure 4 –
Unemployment Rate
Figure 5 – Male Labor Force
Participation Rate
Figure 6 –
Male Unemployment Rate
Figure 1 - Colorado Labor Force Participation Rate
Figure 7 – Female Labor
Force Participation Rate
Figure 8 – Female
Unemployment Rate
By Educational
Attainment Level
Figure 9 – Labor Force
Participation Rate
Figure 10 -
Unemployment Rate
The 2015 labor force participation rate (LFPR) was at a low of 66.5%, since then the overall rate had slowly
climbed an upward to 69% in February of 2020. Over the last three months, the LFPR has fallen by over 3%,
slightly below the 2015 low. This drop in the LFPR amounts to 266,700 people dropping out of the labor force.
One of the largest
drops in the labor
force was seen in
women over the
age of 35, with this
group experiencing
a decline of nearly
8% participation
dropping from 63%
to 55.3%. This is
more than double the
decline in the same
age category for men.
PARTICIPATION
WOMEN AGES 35+
PARTICIPATION DROPPED
63% → 55.3%
MEN AGES 35+
PARTICIPATION DROPPED
76% → 72%
FIGURE 1
Figure 2 - Colorado Unemployment Rate
From February 2020 to May 2020, the state’s unemployment rate rose from 3.3% to 10.2%, driven by a net loss of
273,500 jobs. April 2020 was the worst month of job losses in Colorado history with over 326,000 lost jobs from
the month earlier. The slight reduction in the unemployment rate from April to May, account for both the addition
of 68,000 jobs and the data reflect the growth of over 68,000 jobs along with the offsetting decline in the labor
force participation rate. As more Coloradans drop out of the labor force, which pressures the unemployment
rate (total employed/labor force) to drop. If the labor force participation rate had not declined as well, and given
the job loss over last three months, the unemployment rate would actually stand at a much higher 18%.
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE GREW
4.3%
17.2%
Coloradans with no college
degree, including those with a
high school diploma or those
who did not graduate high
school, saw unemployment
rate grow from 4.3% to 17.2%.
FOR THOSE WITHOUT A COLLEGE DEGREE
Current unemployment rates don’t fully reflect
the recent labor market disruptions. If labor force
participation rates in May had stayed at the same
level as February, then the May unemployment rate
would be closer to 18%. By gender it would be 22%
for female and 14% for male.
FIGURE 2
32 | TRENDS AUGUST 2020 www.aamdhq.org