Press Releases

Colorado’s recently released Workforce Innovations and Opportunity Act (WIOA) annual report, Driving Colorado Forward Together, highlights the impacts of workforce development investments on Colorado’s individuals and businesses. In Program Year 2019, workforce center customers secured higher incomes and employers who used the centers’ services saw cost savings. Throughout Colorado, 313,370 job seekers and 9,045 businesses were served by local workforce centers in PY2019. Of those job seekers, 63.2% successfully found employment and 64.5% retained employment one year later. Additionally, more than $453 million in wages were returned to the economy through the Colorado public workforce system.

(DENVER) -- Today the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) reported that 17,130 regular initial unemployment claims were filed the week ending November 28th. The week prior, 15,219 regular initial unemployment claims were filed. Since mid-March, a total of 643,484 regular initial unemployment claims have been filed.*

Second quarter 2020 Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) results indicate Colorado total nonfarm payroll jobs estimates will be revised down for this period with the release of benchmarked estimates in March 2021. June 2020 estimates are expected to be revised down by about 33,900 nonfarm payroll jobs. April and May 2020 estimates are expected to be revised down by about 30,500 and 31,200 nonfarm payroll jobs, respectively.

Employers in Colorado added 21,100 nonfarm payroll jobs from September to October for a total of 2,688,100 jobs, according to the survey of business establishments. Private sector payroll jobs increased by 22,000. Government shed 900 jobs in October, with the majority of those losses attributable to the end of the 2020 Census campaign and related temporary jobs. Since May, Colorado has gained back 217,000 of the 342,300 nonfarm payroll jobs lost between February and April. That translates to a job recovery rate of 63.4 percent, which exceeds the U.S. rate of 54.5 percent.

(DENVER) -- Today the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) reported that 9,171 regular initial unemployment claims were filed the week ending November 14th. Since mid-March, a total of 611,135 regular unemployment initial claims have been filed.*

(DENVER) -- Today the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) reported that 7,483 regular initial unemployment claims were filed the week ending November 7th. There were also 7,281 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claims filed for the same week. Given the large increase in PUA initial claims over the last couple weeks, CDLE is conducting a review to determine what issues may be contributing to the increase, including a deep-dive fraud analysis (updates on this analysis will be shared in the next weekly release). Since mid-March, a total of 601,964 regular unemployment initial claims have been filed and a grand total of 785,692 claims, including federal PUA benefits.*  

Denver -- On Tuesday, November 10, individuals and organizations dedicated to the advancement of apprenticeships were honored at the third annual Colorado Apprenticeship Awards, a virtual event hosted by the Business Experiential Learning (BEL) Commission and included leadership from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, the Colorado Department of Higher Education, the Colorado Department of Education, the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, CareerWise Colorado, the Colorado Community College System, and the Colorado Workforce Development Council.

​​​​​​​The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, through its Division of Labor Standards and Statistics, adopted final versions of six sets of rules today.

(DENVER) -- Today the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) reported that 7,116 regular initial unemployment claims were filed the week ending October 31st. There were also 3,625 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claims filed for the same week. Since mid-March, a total of 594,481 regular unemployment initial claims have been filed and a grand total of 770,928 claims, including federal PUA benefits.*  For the week ending October 24th, a combined total of 207,795 continued claims were filed, including 96,078 from regular UI, 63,229 from PUA, and 48,488 from Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation.** 

(Denver) -- Today, Colorado Governor Jared Polis issued a proclamation declaring November Colorado Apprenticeship Month, in recognition of the increasingly important role such programs play in helping Coloradans gain in-demand skills while earning a paycheck.