Colorado’s job market is showing signs of strain. A sharp decline in nonfarm payroll jobs — driven in part by King Soopers workers’ strike — has left Colorado with a net-zero job growth rate from February 2024 to February 2025.

Colorado’s unemployment rate now sits at 4.7% — a markedly higher percentage than the national average of 4.1% from February’s employment data.

Colorado’s unemployment rate has been steadily rising over the past three years, but some economists in 2024 saw little cause for concern thanks to the state’s strong job creation and high labor participation rate. With job growth now slowing, that outlook could soon be challenged.

Employers in Colorado lost roughly 8,900 nonfarm payroll jobs from January to February, according to data from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. With only an increase of 500 jobs reported for January, that means a net 8,400 jobs lost so far in 2025.

January’s numbers were previously thought to have been more positive. The department reported an estimated increase of 3,900 jobs in its initial report, though the final number has since been revised down by 3,400 based on additional responses from businesses and government agencies.

Colorado employers were estimated to have added a net total of 500 jobs over the past 12 months through mid-February, which rounds down to a 0% annual growth rate compared with the 1.2% growth rate for the U.S. Exactly one year ago, Colorado’s annual growth rate was half a percentage point higher than the national average, at 1.9% and 1.4% respectively.

It’s worth noting that Colorado faced some challenges in accurately reporting employment data in 2024 due to data quality problems from an overhaul of the state’s unemployment insurance premiums system. These data quality issues resulted in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics suspending the publishing of 2025 labor force and unemployment data for Colorado, though the bureau said the problem has since been corrected.

The Department of Labor and Employment is primarily crediting February’s job loss and low annual growth rate to strike activity. Roughly 10,000 employees at Kroger-owned grocery chain King Soopers went on an 11-day strike last month — primarily concentrated along the Front Range — and returned on Feb. 18 just after the department had finished collecting its monthly data, meaning they were not included in the payroll job estimates. 

With both sides having reached a temporary deal, March’s numbers could bring back some relief — though likely short-lived, since President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk’s plans with the Department of Government Efficiency could result in more layoffs for some of Colorado’s federal workforce. 

Nearly 500 Colorado federal employees filed for unemployment between Trump’s inauguration and the last week of February, according to reporting by Colorado Public Radio.

Just last month, the Trump Administration notified the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that it would begin mass layoffs of up to 10% of its workforce — prompting concern from forecasters, meteorologists and elected officials in Colorado about crucial safety and weather services.