SAN LUIS VALLEY – In September 2020, unemployment rates for the San Luis Valley(SLV), Colorado and the nation continued to decline.

Recently released Colorado unemployment figures from the Colorado Department of Labor and Unemployment (CDLU) for August 2020 indicate that the unemployment rate in the San Luis Valley (SLV) continues to decline and to fare better than the statewide and national unemployment rates.

The average unemployment rate for Colorado decreased to 6.2% in September. Nationwide the unemployment rate dropped from 8.4% in August to 7.9% in September. In the San Luis Valley among the 23,100 labor force there were 21,767 employed equaling a 5.8% unemployment rate. In August 2020 the SLV unemployment rate was 6.2%.

The SLV county with the lowest unemployment rate in September 2020 was Conejos County with 4.3% unemployment. Conejos County had an unemployment rate of 4.7% in August. Alamosa County dropped from 5.9% in August to 5.5% in September. Rio Grande County unemployment dropped from 6.8% in August to 6.1% in September. Saguache County unemployment dropped  0.4% from August to 7.1%. Costilla County once again had the highest unemployment rate in the SLV with 6.8% unemployed which was a drop of 1.15 from August. Mineral County’s unemployment rose from an August percentage of 3.9% to 4.3% in September.