Colorado’s job market isn’t growing as fast as experts predicted earlier this year, based on new federal data that shows the state experienced the second-largest downward revision in the nation this year.

A September employment report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed roughly 51,200 fewer jobs were created in Colorado than originally estimated during the 12-month period ending in March 2025.

The updated figure comes from state unemployment insurance tax records that nearly all employers are required to file with state workforce agencies, as opposed to the household survey data used for the bureau’s monthly job growth estimates. The unemployment insurance records, which contain more complete tax data, are considered more reliable than the household surveys.

Revisions to the March 2025 employment data showed that nonfarm job growth was lower than estimated in 38 states and higher in 12 states, ranging from a negative 1.8% change in Colorado to a positive 1.1% change in Arizona and New York.

Colorado had the second-largest downward revision in the U.S., behind North Carolina’s 56,900 jobs subtracted from original estimates, according to the report. This isn’t the state’s largest revision, however. In 2024, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated a preliminary downward revision of 72,700 jobs, according to Labor Market Information Director Tim Wonhof with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.

“At the national level, falling response rates may be contributing to larger revisions. As the sample size falls, there is more risk for volatility in survey-based estimates such as the (Current Employment Statistics survey),” Wonhof said in an emailed statement. “The revisions themselves provide important context into what is happening within the labor market. Like many states, Colorado’s preliminary revision is showing that actual job growth in the state was weaker than the original survey based estimate had shown.”

The state labor department’s monthly employment reports typically include a revision for the previous month’s data based on “additional responses from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates,” according to the July employment report. Most recently, estimates for June were revised from a decrease of 1,500 jobs to a decrease of 2,700.

Colorado also faced challenges in accurately reporting employment data in 2024 due to data quality issues resulting from an overhaul of the state’s unemployment insurance premiums system. The data quality issues resulted in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics suspending the publishing of labor force and unemployment data for Colorado during the first part of 2025, though the bureau said the problem has since been corrected.

“We are seeing improvement in the collection of data and the quality of data in Colorado. There has been, however, observed softening in labor markets throughout the U.S., so it is difficult to know the degree to which data collection is impacting job revisions given slower job growth witnessed over the past two years,” Wonhof said.

The revision to Colorado’s employment figures is not an isolated incident. Earlier this month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the country’s job creation for the same time period had been overestimated by 911,000 jobs. The removal of just under 1 million jobs from U.S. estimates is the largest revision in U.S. history.

Colorado labor economist Ryan Gedney said larger revisions “aren’t that surprising” for a multitude of reasons: Gedney noted in his August newsletter that the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s budget has declined by 14% in the last 20 years, in addition to a decline in their full-time employee count over the past decade and a fallout of households participating in employment surveys since the pandemic, resulting in less reliable data.

Other external factors impacting job growth include federal layoffs, immigration trends and changing tariff policies, according to Gedney. As of August 2025, the U.S. average tariff rate paid across all imports is the highest since 1934.

“Businesses historically dislike change and uncertainty, and this was reflected in employer confidence surveys at the time. It’s therefore not surprising that hiring and job growth would slow down significantly immediately following this period,” Gedney wrote in his report.

The revisions to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ March 2025 employment data are preliminary and will be finalized in March 2026.