Sources & References
Metro Job Market Pulse · Grand Junction, CO MSA · October 2026
Every advertised-pay, job-posting and industry figure in this briefing comes from WageScape's own database of active job postings. The sources below back the external facts cited in the written analysis.
Sources cited in this report
Key Indicators
National wage growth of 3.0% against 3.4% inflation, September 2026
Bureau of Labor Statistics — National average hourly earnings and CPI data
This Month's Takeaways
Colorado wage growth averaged above inflation through 2025
Colorado Department of Labor and Employment — State wage and price level trend data
Leeds Business Confidence Index below neutral despite quarterly gain
University of Colorado Leeds School of Business — Leeds Business Confidence Index Q2-Q3 2026
Local Economic Conditions
Grand Junction MSA labor force and unemployment figures for June-July 2026
Bureau of Labor Statistics / FRED — Local area unemployment statistics for Grand Junction MSA
Colorado net domestic out-migration and reduced international immigration in 2025
Colorado Business Economic Outlook — State demographic and labor force trend analysis
Looking Ahead
Colorado lost 1,400 nonfarm jobs July to August 2026, third consecutive month
Colorado Department of Labor and Employment — Statewide nonfarm payroll employment monthly change
How the numbers are calculated
- Advertised pay is the median of the pay ranges employers publish in active job postings in this metro. It is not survey or payroll data.
- Percent changes compare the latest six full months with the six months before that, for the same metro and sector.
- Sectors group postings by the employer's industry (NAICS) classification into ten sectors. Where a metro has too few postings in a sector, the state figure is used instead.
- Role pay trends use the same comparison windows. "Stable" means a change of less than 3%; "moderate" 3–10%; "significant" more than 10%.
Official data for comparison