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Alliance: jobs growing in La Plata county

Largest sector is lowest paying

La Plata County's economy is doing well, with an unemployment rate of 4.3 percent as of July, according to a report from the county Economic Development Alliance.

The unemployment rate is almost down to the 4.2 percent that indicates job growth is outpacing population growth. By far the biggest job growth was in construction, which took a big hit during the national housing bust.

The report lists a total of 24,350 payroll jobs in the county in the first quarter of 2014, an increase of 964 or 4.2 percent from the first quarter of 2013. This doesn't include self-employment.

Of the new payroll jobs, 565 or 59 percent were in construction. Next was accommodations and food service with 125 or 13 percent. The report suggests that reflects the opening of two new hotels in Durango.

Two other categories, retail trade and administrative services with 11 percent each, brought the four job categories to 94 percent of new jobs created.

The report has a different set of statistics for wage growth. The average payroll wage was up 2.3 percent to $41,364 as of the first quarter of 2014, and total payroll increased by $15 million.

However, the county's largest job sector, accommodations and food service, is characterized by low pay, with wages below $19,000. The category accounts for almost 3,500 employees.

The highest paying job category, mining, averaged $120,000 a year, with an 11-percent pay increase from the first quarter of 2013. The category employees around 620 people, with only 18 new jobs added from the first quarter of 2013 to 2014.

Construction wages averaged $44,000, down from $47,000 for the first quarter of 2013. The report suggests that could reflect a lot of new entry-level jobs. The report lists 2,450 construction jobs.

The finance and insurance category had 11-percent wage growth with pay of around $72,000 per year. This category has around 960 employees and actually saw a 2.8 percent job decrease from the first quarter of 2013.

Wholesale trade, manufacturing, and professional/ technical saw small job growth and some pay growth. Wholesale trade wages rose 3.1 percent to around $60,000 per year. Manufacturing wages rose 7.2 percent to around $34,000. Professional and technical wages rose 5.2 percent to around $54,000.