Employment

According to local employers, the productivity, knowledge base and work ethic of the people are key assets of the area labor force. Productivity levels are impressive and can be confirmed by visiting with local firms, such as Hewlett Packard, Agilent Technologies, The Group Publishing, Waterpik Technologies, Inc., etc.

Civilian Labor Force and Unemployment Rates

December 2004 (not seasonally adjusted)

City	Labor Force	Employed	Unemployed	Rate
Fort Collins/Loveland MSA	154,389	146,685	7,704	5.0%
Fort Collins	74,421	70,456	3,965	5.3%
Loveland	29,292	27,898	1,394	4.8%
Colorado	2,535,965	2,408,343	127,622	5.0%
United States	148,203,000	140,156,000	8,047,000	5.4%
Source: Colorado Department of Labor & Employment and Larimer County Workforce Center www.coworkforce.com/lmi

Northern Colorado has one of the highest educated workforces in the nation. Layoffs in the high-tech industry, have left professional from some of the industries' top ranked technology companies in search for new jobs.

Contact the Larimer County Workforce at:
418 East 4th Street
Loveland, Colorado 80537
(970) 667-4261
Fax (970) 663-7271
Office Hours: M-F 8am - 5pm
Computer Lab Hours: M-F 8am - 4:45pm

The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment's Larimer Weld Regional Job Vacancy Survey, Fall 2004, states:

"The Job Vacancy Survey sectors with the highest number of vacancies are: Government; Health Care & Social Assistance; Trade, Transportation & Utilities; and Leisure & Hospitality. Government alone has more vacancies than the bottom seven industries combined. Almost half of the vacancies in government are part-time permanent positions.

Health Care & Social Assistance has the second highest number of vacancies and the highest average wage in the survey at $19.00 per hour. This is nearly four times the minimum wage, and nearly $2.00 more per hour than the average wage in Construction, which is the second highest paying Job Vacancy Survey sector."

Top Twenty Occupations with Estimated Vacancies

SOC Code	Occupational Title	Vacancies Estimated	Vacancies Found	Mid-Point JVS Wage
29-1111	Registered Nurse	100	84	$24.80
27-2022	Coaches and Scouts	87	87	$11.20
37-3011	Landscaping & Groundskeeping Workers	69	62	$9.60
41-2011	Cashiers	64	36	$7.40
25-2011	Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education	48	6	$10.00
27-2023	Umpires, Referees and Other Sports Officials	47	47	$11.10
41-2031	Retail Salespersons	47	17	$7.40
31-1012	Nursing Aides, Orderlies, and Attendants	41	28	$9.20
35-3031	Waiters and Waitresses	40	11	$5.20
43-3071	Tellers	37	12	$9.00
53-3031	Driver/Sales Workers	33	12	$6.20
53-7062	Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	33	21	$11.10
35-2014	Cooks, Restaurant	33	9	$7.40
43-9061	Office Clerks, General	24	7	$11.50
43-4171	Receptionists and Information Clerks	21	4	$8.80
47-2152	Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters	21	7	$23.50
35-3021	Combined Food Preparation and Serving Workers, Including Fast Food	21	13	$7.50
17-2141	Mechanical Engineers	20	1	*
15-1021	Computer Programmers	20	1	$20.00
* - Insufficient wage data available Source: Larimer/Weld Job Vacancy Survey, Fall 2004 www.coworkforce.com/lmi/wra/home.htm

Fort Collins-Loveland MSA Occupational Wages

SOC	Occupation	Average Hourly Wage	Median Hourly Wage
11-2021	Advertising and Promotions Managers	$21.72	$20.00
11-3011	Administrative Services Managers	$31.44	$31.02
11-3040	Human Resources Managers	$34.54	$34.27
13-2011	Accountants and Auditors	$24.58	$22.71
15-1021	Computer Programmers	$28.50	$27.13
17-2051	Civil Engineers	$29.14	$28.39
19-3051	Urban and Regional Planners	$27.71	$27.22
21-1022	Medical and Public Health Social Workers	$17.77	$17.24
25-2031	Secondary School Teachers, Ex Special & Vocational Education	N/A	$40,110*
27-1024	Graphic Designers	$17.92	$17.38
27-3042	Technical Writers	$20.40	$18.79
29-1062	Family and General Practitioners	$51.37	$56.54
29-1111	Registered Nurses	$22.98	$22.62
29-9010	Occupational Health and Safety Specialist and Technicians	$24.39	$24.66
33-3051	Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers	$27.63	$28.70
35-3021	Combined Food Preparation and Serving-Related Workers, Inc Fast Food	$7.58	$7.58
37-3011	Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers	$10.88	$10.48
39-5012	Hairdressers, Hairstylists and Cosmetologists	$13.25	$12.60
41-2031	Retail Salespersons	$10.98	$8.78
41-9041	Telemarketers	$10.21	$9.84
43-1011	First Line Supervisors/Managers of Office and Administrative Support Workers	$19.81	$18.46
43-6014	Secretaries, Ex Legal, Medical & Executive	$11.75	$11.53
45-1011	First Line Supervisors/Managers of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers	$13.35	$12.83
47-1011	First Line Supervisors/Managers of Construction and Extraction Workers	$25.33	$24.91
49-1011	First-Line Supervisors/Managers of Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations	$23.74	$22.83
51-2022	Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers	$12.45	$11.65
51-4041	Machinists	$9.00	$18.88
51-4121	Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Blazers	$13.53	$13.67
53-1031	First Line Supervisors/Managers of Transportation and Material-Moving Machine and Vehicle Operators	$18.53	$19.23
* - Median Annual Wage (Source: 2003 Colorado Occupational Wages, Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, www.coworkforce.com/lmi/wages/2670g.htmM