Labor Force

Area Economic Summary
The Lincoln County regional economy is based on the government, energy, hospitality and healthcare industries. In 2017, of the county's covered employment, 27.1% was in the local government industry, 18.7% in state government, 17.2% was in trade, transportation and utilities, and 14.2% in leisure and hospitality. Of the industries accounting for more than 1.0% of the county's covered employment, the fastest growing from 2012 through 2017 were professional and business services at 6.4% annually, financial activities at 3.6% annually and local government at 2.2% annually. In addition, of the industries that make up the highest percentage of area employment, local and state government increased 2.2% and 1.2% annually over that five‐year period, respectively, while trade, transportation and utilities increased 0.5% per year, and leisure and hospitality decreased 0.6% annually.

From 2016 to 2017, employment in Limon, CO grew at a rate of 8.94%, from 537 employees to 585 employees.

Employment Trends

Employment in Lincoln County declined an average of 1.8% per year from 2008 to 2017. In 2009, employment climbed 7.1%, followed by a 32.1% decrease in 2010, a 1.5% increase in 2011, average annual decreases of 1.8% through 2013 and annual growth of 4.4% through 2017. Other than the national recession, there was no indication of the loss of a major employer or other reasoning for the large drop in employment in 2009.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) does not publish employment information for Limon, as it has a population under the minimum threshold of 25,000.

The county's October 2018 employment level (2,518) rose 2.1% from its October 2017 level (2,466). From November 2017 through October 2018, average monthly employment in the county was 6.5% higher than the same period from 2016 to 2017, 12.7% higher than from 2015 to 2016, 17.9% higher than from 2014 to 2015, and 21.7% higher than the average in the 12‐month period from 2013 to 2014.

The labor participation rate increased from 47.5% to 56.6% between 2013 and 2018.

The unemployment rate in Lincoln County lowered from 3.7% to 2.1% between 2008 and 2017. The rate increased from 3.7% in 2008 to 6.5% in 2012, then declined to 2.1% in 2017. The county's 2017 rate was less than its ten‐year average of 4.5%.