Overview
Employment projections provide job seekers, policy makers, and other stakeholders insight into how many jobs exist within specified industries and occupations, how the number of jobs is expected to change over time, and what the future demand for workers may be. While the future is hard to predict, forecasts merely compile the best information of the day to understand potential future employment trends. Accordingly, short-term projections are useful in telling us something about the current economy. Long-term projections provide us cautioned advice around where the market for labor is headed.
Short-term (2-year) and long-term (10-year) projections of industry and occupational employment are produced for all states across the nation using the Projections Suite software system developed under the direction of the Projections Managing Partnership (PMP) in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL). Employment projections reflect the number of jobs in each industry or occupation and not the number of people, since no attempt is made to correct for multiple jobholders. Estimates include both full-time and part-time employment.
Colorado projections are available for the whole state, seven metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), and three balance of state (BOS) areas with short-term projections revised twice per year and long-term projections revised annually. Size constraints and confidentiality may limit the ability to produce projections for some areas.
Methodology
Projections for industries, as classified by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), are developed using historical employment time series data from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program and other economic variables. These industry projections are then converted into occupational projections, classified under the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system, using staffing patterns produced by the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program.
Current Projections by State
Learn more about labor market projections in other states at Projections Central.
Industry Codes
The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the industry coding scheme used by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Occupation Codes
The Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system is an occupational coding taxonomy used by federal agencies to classify workers into occupational categories for the purpose of collecting, calculating, or disseminating data.
National Employment Projections
The Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections program develops information about the labor market for the nation as a whole for 10 years in the future.