COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — Colorado has experienced the nation's largest shift from private to public sector employment, with the state gaining more than 15,000 government jobs while losing nearly the same number of private sector positions between February 2024 and 2025, according to a new report.
The trend is creating challenges for local businesses like IICON, a Colorado Springs-based construction company working on projects including Atlas Prep Middle School and the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo's giraffe exhibit.
"There's a lot of competition in El Paso County, so right now I think it's harder than it was maybe 3 years ago," said Greg Collier, IICON's owner.
Collier's company employs 31 workers and has completed projects throughout El Paso County, including work at Fort Carson and the Air Force Academy. He hopes to grow to 50 employees but says hiring has become increasingly difficult.
"I'd like to say we're a family. All of our projects are in El Paso County," Collier said.
The hiring challenges reflect a broader statewide pattern documented by the non-partisan Common Sense Institute. The report shows Colorado experienced the biggest change of any state in the balance between public and private sector employment.
Johnna Reeder Kleymeyer, president and CEO of the Colorado Springs Chamber and EDC, explained that private sector jobs encompass a wide range of businesses.
"If you think about your favorite coffee shop, your law firm on the street corner, many businesses in our aerospace and defense industry," Reeder Kleymeyer said.
Meanwhile, public sector growth isn't occurring in traditional areas like education and public safety, she noted.
"The job growth is NOT happening in our teachers and police, it's staying steady or going down," Reeder Kleymeyer said.
Instead, the growth is concentrated in other government positions, even as Colorado's population dynamics shift.
"Our net migration has seen a change of 50%, meaning more people are leaving than are staying. As our population is dropping, there's no need for more bureaucratic jobs at the state level to be growing," she said.
Reeder Kleymeyer argues that this gap between Colorado's public and private sectors is damaging the local economy and calls for the state government to adopt more business-friendly policies.
"We're putting more of the burden on our businesses and the taxpayer, and as beautiful as our state is, that's not paying the bills," she said.
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