Jobs Outlook Positive in Colorado

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KUSA – The U.S. added jobs at a higher rate than many economists thought during the month of July – 117,000 jobs opened up last month dropping the nation’s unemployment rate from 9.2 to 9.1 percent.

In Colorado, unemployment stands at 8.5 percent.

July’s unemployment numbers won’t come out for two more weeks, but with the week of uncertainty in the markets, Colorado’s chief economist remained positive about the outlook.

“We have avoided a blow to our psyche by not having worse national news,” Chief Economist Alex Hall said of Friday’s national jobs numbers. “Even though the July estimate was pretty weak, I was glad to see that we were not going into a consistent pattern of revising [jobs numbers] downward,” she said.

While there are still millions of people unemployed nationwide,employers are creating and opening positions.

The Integer Group, a brand marketing and retail promotion company, has at least 35 jobs open in Lakewood.

“Do I get hundreds of people applying for them? I absolutely do,” said Integer Group Recruiter Deborah Glynn.

Yet Glynn remained positive about her company’s future employment opportunities.

“There are things out there, there really are,” she said.

Glynn knows because she was just hired two weeks ago.

“I was very fortunate, and I’m not so out of touch that I think everybody can just land something tomorrow,” she said. “But really, I think that people are optimistic, I think companies are optimistic.”

With more jobs to offer today, lots of candidates are competing, as well.

“You’ve got to figure out a way to set yourself apart from the other couple hundred per job resumes you might get,” said Integer Group Human Relations Group Director Tracy Tobin.

While many candidates still focus on the private sector, there are plenty turning to non-profits.

The Colorado Non-Profit Association looks to its online jobs board for positive statistics about employment in Colorado.

Employers have posted 34 percent more jobs than they did at this time last year.

“We’re on pace now for about 4,000 jobs in 2011,” said President and CEO Renny Fagan of the association’s jobs board. “I think whenever any organization is hiring, they are thinking positively about being able to fund that position and maintain the funding for that position.”

There is still a long way to go to make up for more than eight million positions lost nationwide during the recession.

“Of course what we want to see is 200,000 more month to month,” Colorado Chief Economist Alex Hall said about the nationwide jobs numbers.

We will know more about Colorado’s numbers in about two weeks, she said, when unemployment figures are released.