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DENVER – The Colorado Chamber of Commerce and Aspen Technology Labs today released their fourth quarter (Q4) jobs report for 2024. The report provides real-time workforce and jobs data to better understand Colorado’s economic landscape. For the last quarter of 2024, the report also provides job market insights for the full year.
Job openings in Colorado decreased by 3% between September and December, compared to a 0.7% decrease nationwide. Median salaries in Colorado continued to rise in Q4, with the median full-time salary at $61,745, increasing by 2.9%. Colorado salaries offered in job listings remain competitive with other states, ranking as the 14th highest across the nation. Colorado ranked 18th in the last quarter for highest number of job vacancies per capita.
“In order for Colorado to be a top state for business, our employers need to be able to attract the top talent for open positions across the state,” said Loren Furman, president and CEO of the Colorado Chamber. “Our Q4 jobs report indicates that Colorado businesses continue to offer some of the highest salaries in the nation to stay competitive. Beginning this year, the Colorado Chamber will be working with local partners to help launch regional workforce summits to explore sectors and careers with the greatest talent needs. This collaborative initiative will strengthen our long-term talent pipeline to promote a better business climate.”
“The Q4 2024 report underscores the dynamic nature of Colorado’s job market. While Colorado saw a 3% decline in job openings this quarter, a sharper drop than the national decrease of 0.7%, Colorado continues to lead in sectors like remote jobs and scientific roles. We remain bullish on the Colorado jobs market for 2025,” says Michael Woodrow, founder of Aspen Tech Labs.
At the local level, Sterling, Denver and Boulder had the highest median salaries in job listings for Q4, coming in at $67,600, $63,669 and $63,502, respectively. The Steamboat Springs area experienced the greatest increase in job vacancies with 16% growth, followed by Greeley and Grand Junction, both at 1% growth. The greatest decline was experienced in Fort Collins, with a 6% reduction in job listings, followed by Rifle and Pueblo, which both saw 5% declines.
Looking at all quarters of 2024, Colorado statewide job vacancies declined by 2.1% year-over-year, slightly less than the national decrease of 2.5%. The most in-demand job by total vacancies for 2024 in Colorado was for retail associates, while truck driver roles saw the fastest growth.
When it comes to salary growth in job listings, Colorado salaries rose by 6% for all of 2024, which is a significant increase from the 0.4% growth seen in 2023 job listings. Colorado, however, lags behind other states in salary growth for the year, ranking only 39th compared to nationwide salaries increasing by 8.7%.
In every job market report, the Chamber and Aspen Technology Labs highlight a different sector through its industry spotlight. This quarter, the report explores public sector jobs, which saw an 11.2% decline in job vacancies year-over-year in 2024. The top public sector employers were Denver Public Schools and the State of Colorado. The top job titles were in the education field, with teachers being the most in-demand position. For non-education positions, maintenance technicians, police officers and attorneys were the top open roles. The highest-paying categories for public sector jobs were in finance, legal, and information technology roles.
To view the full 2024 Q4 job market report, please visit: https://cochamber.com/wp-content/uploads/Colorado-Chamber-of-Commerce-2024.pdf
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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.