DENVER (KDVR) — Promising news from a new jobs report released by the Colorado Chamber of Commerce: According to the report, more jobs are being filled now compared to the last two years.

Colorado ranks 14th for job vacancies in the country, down from 8th, where the Centennial State previously ranked.

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All is not perfect, however, as there are still a lot of job vacancies, which can be an indicator that employers are not finding the talent they need to fill those positions.

“It’s still a pretty competitive market for employers that are looking for skilled workers,” Loren Furman, president and CEO of the Colorado Chamber of Commerce, said.

There are fewer job vacancies now than in years past.

“Especially compared to 2022,” Furman said, “where it was a pretty volatile job market at that time and the vacancies were significantly higher.”

The report also shows less optimistic signs of a drop in competitiveness among salaries, which the chamber attributes to costs taken on by employers.

“The state’s increased cost of doing business factors around a costly regulatory environment,” Furman said.

On the other hand, Colorado ranks near the bottom at No. 41 nationwide in cost of living, according to a recent report from U.S. News.

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Regarding the job vacancies around the state, those are in industries that are not landing people with the skills needed for those roles.

“When you think about healthcare, when you think about manufacturing, those are some of the most prevalent areas that employers are having trouble filling jobs with skilled workers,” Furman said.

One reason for the gap found by the chamber’s study points to job training programs.

“What we’ve found is that there is a lack of communication between education representatives and the business community in regions across the state to teach curriculum and find the skill sets that are needed,” Furman said.

A bipartisan bill is about halfway to becoming law that could impact the workforce in Colorado.

House Bill 1365 aims to create a state-funded summit to connect employers with educators to create training programs that would meet the needs of a new workforce across the state.

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