For media inquiries, please contact Cynthia Eveleth-Havens at [email protected].
DENVER – The Colorado Chamber of Commerce and Aspen Technology Labs (ATL) today released their jobs report for the second quarter (Q2) of 2024. Utilizing ATL’s database of more than 9 million job vacancies worldwide from over 170,000 companies, the report provides real-time workforce and jobs data to better understand Colorado’s economic landscape.
Following a relatively stable jobs landscape in Q1, data remained relatively steady into the second quarter. Colorado job vacancies saw a modest increase of 1.9%, which was slightly higher than the U.S. average, and salaries declined by a marginal 1.4%. Compared to other states, Colorado moved up one ranking from 20th to 19th in total job vacancies and dropped from 14th to 15th in highest median salaries.
“While there are still significant workforce gaps in certain sectors looking to fill critical positions, the job market stability we’re seeing statewide is encouraging for both businesses and workers,” said Colorado Chamber President and CEO Loren Furman. “This statewide and local data will continue to support the Chamber’s efforts to improve our competitive landscape and identify the greatest need for talent for businesses across Colorado.”
“The Q2 job market in Colorado has shown stability with a slight increase in job vacancies, positioning Colorado ahead of 33 other states in terms of job market expansion,” said ATL President and Founder Mike Woodrow. “Additionally, our new analysis of artificial intelligence job trends reveals that while AI roles have increased by 34% year-over-year nationally, Colorado has seen less than a 5% growth in this sector. Suggesting, perhaps, that Colorado employers are slow to focus on AI positions. These insights are crucial for business owners and employers as they navigate the evolving job market and consider strategies for workforce development.”
Each quarter, the jobs report spotlights a different industry dedicated to exploring the latest trends and developments shaping Colorado’s economy. The Q2 report highlights jobs in the artificial intelligence (AI) industry. Colorado is currently lagging behind the national trend in growth in this sector, with just a 3% growth compared to one year ago. Other tech-centric states have seen significant growth – for example, California experienced 83.7% growth in AI jobs compared to last year.
From a regional perspective, the largest increase in salary vacancies occurred in Fort Collins, Grand Junction and Durango, all with a 5% increase from the previous quarter. The greatest decline in vacancies came from Pueblo with an 8% decrease, followed by Greeley with a 4% decrease. Denver, Colorado Springs and Boulder offered the highest median salaries in the state at $59,758, $57,772 and $57,200 respectively.
Health care industries continue to see the highest need for talent, with more than 15,000 new positions listed in Q2. This is followed by sales positions, trailing at just over 8,000 open positions. Health care jobs also made up half of the top 10 highest-paid job titles list.
To view the full Q2 jobs report, please click here.
###
The Colorado Chamber of Commerce champions free enterprise, a healthy business environment and economic prosperity for all Coloradans. It is the only business association that works to improve the business climate for all sizes of business from a statewide, multi-industry perspective. What the Colorado Chamber accomplishes is good for all businesses, and that’s good for the state’s economy. It was created in 1965 based on the merger with the Colorado Manufacturers’ Association.
Aspen Technology Labs is a global leader in web data management services and recruitment technology founded in 2008. The company is headquartered in Aspen, Colorado with teams throughout the U.S. and Europe. Aspen Technology provides web scraping, business intelligence, and data/analytics services for a wide variety of industries. Over 12 million job seekers use the company’s technology each year to find jobs and improve the lives of their families.