Labor Market Pulse · Human Resources · August 2026
Human Resources Labor Market Report: Greeley, CO MSA — August 2026
Weld County hiring holds steady as Colorado's labor pool shrinks.
Weld County employment grew 3.6% year-over-year even as Colorado's labor force participation fell to a 10-year low of 65.3%, with neighboring Larimer County's 9.3-11.5% wage surge raising retention stakes along the I-25 corridor.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of August 2026.
Key indicators
- Greeley MSA unemployment: 4.0% — Flat since Dec 2025; matches Weld County rate
- Colorado labor force participation: 65.3% — 10-year low, down 1.7 pts in 12 months
- Weld County employment growth: +3.6% YoY — Q3 2025 vs Colorado's -1,400 jobs in August
- Larimer County wage growth: 9.3%-11.5% YoY — Largest gain among large CO counties
Key takeaways
Weld County is outrunning the state's job losses.
County employment grew 3.6% year-over-year in Q3 2025 even as Colorado shed 1,400 net payroll jobs in August. Hiring plans anchored to statewide softness may miss continued local demand, particularly in government and education/health services.
Larimer County's wage surge is a regional retention risk.
Larimer posted the largest year-over-year wage gain among large Colorado counties at 9.3-11.5%, well above Weld County's more modest trajectory. Greeley-area employers competing for the same commuter labor pool should benchmark against this corridor, not just Weld County averages.
Falling participation limits how much local hiring can scale.
Colorado's labor force participation rate dropped to a 10-year low of 65.3%, down 1.7 points over 12 months, even as Weld County's labor force held near 173,900. Workforce plans dependent on expanding the local candidate pool through population growth carry more risk than they did a year ago.
Minimum wage floor increase reshapes entry-level budgeting now.
Colorado's minimum wage rises to $15.71/hour in 2027, a 3.6% increase announced in August, giving HR leaders a fixed data point for 2027 budget cycles. Entry-level and benefits-tier compression should be modeled well ahead of the effective date, particularly in retail and hospitality roles that dominate Greeley's leisure/hospitality sector.
Median advertised pay by role — Greeley, CO MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compensation Analyst * | $73,000 | $100,746 | $114,882 | Stable | $101,055 |
| HR Business Partner | $73,500 | $90,000 | $92,500 | Significant increase | $83,180 |
| Benefits Manager * | $91,642 | $121,850 | $130,500 | Significant increase | $120,000 |
| HRIS Analyst * | $82,365 | $97,578 | $105,000 | Moderate increase | $95,665 |
| HR Coordinator | $44,720 | $54,080 | $57,200 | Significant decline | $50,095 |
| Recruiter | $47,236 | $63,785 | $79,500 | Moderate increase | $67,643 |
| Payroll Specialist | $51,257 | $59,998 | $67,500 | Moderate decline | $58,266 |
* State-level figure shown where metro postings were too few.
WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings (reported as the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay). Download: CSV · JSON
Local market conditions
Weld County's labor force participation has held near 173,900 while Colorado's statewide rate slid to a 10-year low of 65.3%, yet Greeley's 4.0% unemployment rate has stayed flat since December 2025, suggesting the metro's labor supply is tightening more slowly than the state average but from an already-thin base. Construction shed 2,200 jobs statewide in August alongside a 1,400-job net payroll decline, while Weld County's Q3 2025 employment growth of 3.6% year-over-year — outpacing the Greeley city rate of 2.9% — signals county-level hiring momentum that hasn't yet shown up in more recent state-level softness.
What it means
Diverging state and county trajectories mean workforce planning built on statewide Colorado data may understate Weld County's continued hiring activity, particularly as neighboring Larimer County posts the state's largest wage gains (+9.3% to +11.5% year-over-year) and pulls commuting talent north. Falling statewide labor force participation combined with stable local unemployment suggests employers can't count on population growth to solve sourcing gaps, making retention economics — not just starting pay — the more urgent lever. Consider reviewing retention-focused compensation adjustments for roles with cross-county mobility risk, particularly where Larimer County's wage acceleration may be pulling candidates north along the I-25 corridor.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Colorado's construction sector lost 2,200 jobs statewide in August, the largest single-industry decline. Watch whether Weld County's manufacturing and trade-heavy employment base absorbs any displaced construction talent or feels parallel softening.
Emerging pressure point: Larimer County's wage growth (9.3-11.5% year-over-year) continues to outpace Weld County, raising the risk of talent drift along the northern Front Range corridor. Track whether Greeley-area postings need to close the gap to hold candidates commuting between counties.
Expected: Colorado's 2027 minimum wage increase to $15.71/hour was announced in August, giving employers a defined planning horizon. Expect early movement in entry-level advertised pay as employers phase in adjustments ahead of the effective date.
Early indicator: Statewide labor force participation has fallen for 12 straight months to a 10-year low. Watch whether Weld County's relatively stable participation trend holds or begins tracking the statewide decline, which would tighten local sourcing further.
Methodology
Advertised pay from active employer job postings, not survey data. WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings: distribution analysis shows roughly the lowest 10% of raw values are erroneous entries, so the reported median is the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay. WageScape observes 98% of U.S. job openings daily.
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