In 2014, Colorado experienced an uptick in hiring that looked to continue strong into 2015, causing the state's umemployment rate to drop by more than a third. With the record increase in companies hiring in 2014, Colorado added more jobs than most states in the nation.
According to The Associated Press, Colorado’s jobless rate fell the farthest of all states, down to 4 percent. In addition, "Colorado's employers added 62,300 new jobs," making it one of the country's biggest gainers.
VOTE NOW: Is Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper Doing a Good Job?
While opportunities are available in many sectors, the following are Colorado’s five largest employers in 2014,
according to CareerOneStop.com:
1. University of Colorado-Boulder employs 13,300 workers. As the state’s flagship university, CU-Boulder is one of 34 U.S. public institutions belonging to the Association of American Universities. The school opened its doors in 1877 and has built strong programs in the sciences, engineering, business, law, arts, humanities, education, music, and many other disciplines,
the university’s website said.
2. Lockheed Martin Space Systems employs 10,000 people at its Colorado location in Littleton, CareerOneStop said. It is one of the four major business divisions of Lockheed Martin with other sites all over the country and United Kingdom. Its most notable products are commercial and military satellites, space probes, missile defense systems, NASA’s Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, and the Space Shuttle External Tank,
according to Lockheed Martin.
3. Peterson AFB near Colorado Springs employs 9,286 members of the military and also civilians, CareerOneStop reported.
VOTE NOW: Should the Government Be Doing More to Promote Tourism in America?
The United States Air Force Base is also home to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and The U.S. Northern Command headquarters. The base was developed as a World War II air support base for Camp Carson and has been the location of the Air Force Space Command headquarters since 1987.
4. About 7,000 people work at Denver International Airport, which is often referred to as DIA. At 34,000 acres, it is the largest airport in the U.S. by total area. Runway 16R/34L is the longest public use runway in the U.S. In 2013, DIA was the 15th busiest airport in the world with a passenger traffic count of 52,556,359.
Information on the airport website, Fly Denver, said 35,000 people work at the airport, which includes employees by other businesses.
5. Roof Top Restoration is a national company headquartered in Englewood that employs 6,000 workers.
With several divisions, the company says it “specializes in large loss complex flat roofing.”
URGENT: Do You Approve of the Job John Hickenlooper Is Doing as Colorado Governor?
Related Stories: