Labor Market Pulse · Human Resources · October 2026
Human Resources Labor Market Report: Pueblo, CO MSA — October 2026
Pueblo's labor market splits from Colorado's tightening trend.
Pueblo unemployment hit 6.6% in August against Colorado's 4.1%, while local Compensation Analyst pay fell to $80,862 even as the state's overall labor force shrank to a historic low.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Pueblo MSA unemployment rate: 6.6% — vs 4.1% Colorado statewide, August 2026
- Pueblo County mean wages: $52,379 — down from $53,796 in 2023
- Mission Foods plant closure impact: ~90 jobs — plus ~100 awaiting recall from earlier layoffs
- Colorado labor force participation: 65.2% — lowest since 1979, per CDLE
Key takeaways
Pueblo's downturn is running opposite the state trend.
Metro unemployment rose to 6.6% in August while Colorado's rate sits at 4.1%, a gap wide enough to change how HR leaders should read statewide wage data when setting Pueblo-specific offers. Applying state or national comp trends uniformly risks overpaying for roles where local supply has loosened.
Manufacturing losses are compressing the local wage base.
Mission Foods' plant closure and lingering recall uncertainty for roughly 100 workers remove higher-wage production jobs from a metro already showing wages 22% below Colorado's average. Expect increased applicant flow into adjacent warehouse, logistics and admin roles as displaced workers seek comparable pay.
HR Coordinator and Payroll Specialist pay are rising against the grain.
Both roles show significant upward movement in advertised pay locally even as Compensation Analyst and Recruiter pay fall, suggesting employers are prioritizing operational and compliance-adjacent hires over strategic HR capacity. This may reflect budget tightening that favors execution roles over planning roles during a local downturn.
Falling Compensation Analyst pay could mask a thinner talent bench.
Metro median pay for Compensation Analyst dropped significantly to $80,862, well below the $100,798 national figure, a gap that may deter experienced analysts from staying in-market. Organizations needing specialized comp expertise for benchmarking decisions may need to look outside Pueblo or budget for relocation incentives.
Median advertised pay by role — Pueblo, CO MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compensation Analyst | $80,768 | $80,862 | $80,862 | Significant decline | $100,798 |
| HR Business Partner | $62,131 | $73,367 | $80,000 | Moderate decline | $83,900 |
| Benefits Manager * | $82,574 | $121,093 | $127,135 | Moderate increase | $118,618 |
| HRIS Analyst * | $82,365 | $97,578 | $105,000 | Stable | $95,000 |
| HR Coordinator * | $42,107 | $52,451 | $57,710 | Significant increase | $50,460 |
| Recruiter | $51,940 | $61,617 | $80,860 | Significant decline | $67,234 |
| Payroll Specialist | $46,500 | $58,240 | $72,332 | Significant increase | $61,103 |
* 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
Pueblo's metro unemployment rate climbed to 6.6% in August, up a full point from June's 6.1%, as the Mission Foods tortilla plant closure eliminated roughly 90 jobs and left another 100 workers awaiting recall from an earlier layoff round. Compounding the softening, Pueblo County mean wages fell from $53,796 in 2023 to $52,379 in 2024, a decline that runs counter to statewide wage growth and points to a metro economy shedding higher-wage manufacturing roles faster than it adds them.
What it means
Rising local unemployment alongside falling advertised pay for Compensation Analyst, HR Business Partner, and Recruiter roles suggests Pueblo employers are facing less competitive pressure to raise offers for professional and administrative talent, even as Colorado's statewide labor force participation hits a historic low. Divergence between a cooling local labor pool and a tightening state-level supply picture means HR leaders may have a narrower-than-usual window to recruit professional talent locally before regional scarcity catches up. Consider reviewing whether current offer levels for corporate and support roles reflect Pueblo's softer local conditions, since statewide benchmarks assume tighter supply.
Looking ahead
Early indicator: Watch whether Mission Foods' displaced workers and the roughly 100 still awaiting recall surface in local applicant pools for adjacent manufacturing, logistics or food production roles over the next two months.
Expected: September's statewide unemployment data (released November 20) will clarify whether Colorado's labor force exodus is beginning to tighten competition for Pueblo's professional and administrative talent despite local softening.
Emerging pressure point: Falling Recruiter and Compensation Analyst advertised pay locally could signal reduced investment in internal HR capacity — watch whether this creates slower time-to-fill for other roles as HR teams run leaner.
Worth watching: Healthcare and government remain the metro's projected growth sectors statewide; track whether UCHealth Parkview or Pueblo School District 60 increase postings as manufacturing contracts, shifting the metro's occupational mix further toward service and public-sector roles.
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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