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Mining



 Mining employment continued to decrease while average mining wages continued to increase. Average annual employment decreased by 8.6% or 1,285 jobs from 1995. The majority of the employment decrease occurred in the Denver Metro Area declining by an average of 712 employees. Mining comprised .73% of jobs and 1.43% of wages in Colorado in 1996. In 1987 mining comprised 1.53% of jobs and 2.83% of wages. A large percentage of jobs classified in mining in Colorado are in the Denver Metro Area and are administrative in nature.

 On a statewide basis, Metal Mining employment declined by an average of 50 jobs for the year. In the Metro Denver area, Metal Mining increased by 73 employees with the average salary increasing by 15.4% to $104,242 per year. The average salary in establishments classified in Metal Mining outside the Denver Metro Area was $43,183.

 On a statewide basis, Coal Mining employment declined by an average of 403 jobs for the year. In the Metro Denver area, Coal Mining employment decreased by 25 jobs with the average salary increasing by 7.15% to $99,182 per year. The average salary in firms classified in Coal Mining outside the Denver Metro area was $52,802.

 Metro Denver accounted for 757 of the 917 jobs lost in the Oil and Gas Extraction sector. The number of establishments in Oil and Gas Extraction declined from 871 in 1995 to 829 in 1996. The average annual salary increased 14.4% to $63,893 in Metro Denver. The average annual salary outside the Metro Area was $37,003.

 Employment in Mining and Quarrying for Nonmetallic Minerals Except Fuel experienced very little change. Statewide average employment declined from 1,425 to 1,415. The average annual salary increased 4.5% to $49,110 in Metro Denver. The average annual salary increased 6.21% to $30,403 in the balance of the State. The relative strength of this major group within the Mining division is associated with increases in demand for construction materials. Since 1992, average annual employment has increased by over 13% while total mining employment declined 17.7%.

 Though Mining continued to pay the highest average annual wage of any of the major industry groups, its relative importance to the Colorado economy continued to decline.


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 19921993199419951996
Average Employment16,55516,05315,65814,90413,619
Total Wages$767,764,320$783,669,747$759,336,592$755,614,549$762,940,890
Percent of Total Emp.1.05%.97%.90%.82%.73%
Percent of Total Wages1.94%1.84%1.67%1.54%1.43%