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Research Brief · Research Brief · Q2 2026

Colorado

Overview

Colorado skilled-labor workforce exposure: composite WEI 76 (High, rising) at Q2 2026. IBEW Local 68 ratified a new 3-year agreement effective June 1, 2026 at $70.09/hr total package, escalating to $77.64/hr by 2028 — a real-time signal of compensation pressure. Xcel Energy is fielding 5.8 GW of data center load requests against approximately 6.2 GW of total generating capacity. 88% of AGC Colorado members report labor shortages. A living record, updated each quarter.

Methodology

Institutional workforce intelligence methodology with documented confidence tier, source families, and quarterly refresh cadence.

State workforce context — Colorado

A live public-signal read for Colorado from the Lab's standing trackers — banded and directional, refreshed independently of this brief.

Workforce exposure
Moderate
Exposure movement
easing
Wage position
modestly above national medians
Federal-award momentum
Low · easing

Source: Workforce Exposure Index and federal-award momentum — public_reports (banded). Directional, banded read — not a forecast. Methodology v2 · last updated 2026-05-26. See Live metrics for the full charts.

Suggested citationAlphaHire Workforce Intelligence Lab. (2026). Colorado (Publication No. WIL-RB-2026.2-COLORADO, Version 1.0). Research Brief.

Version 1.0 · Published 2026-04-01 · Updated Q2 2026 · Permanent ID WIL-RB-2026.2-COLORADO. This record is versioned; the URL is permanent and stable for citation.

Export citation (BibTeX · RIS)
BibTeX
@techreport{WILRB20262COLORADO,
  title       = {Colorado},
  author      = {AlphaHire Workforce Intelligence Lab},
  institution = {AlphaHire Workforce Intelligence Lab},
  type        = {Research Brief},
  number      = {WIL-RB-2026.2-COLORADO},
  year        = {2026},
  note        = {Version 1.0; methodology WIL-2026.1},
  url         = {https://library.alpha-hire.com/library/p/colorado},
}
RIS
TY  - RPRT
AU  - AlphaHire Workforce Intelligence Lab
TI  - Colorado
PY  - 2026
PB  - AlphaHire Workforce Intelligence Lab
M1  - WIL-RB-2026.2-COLORADO
ET  - Version 1.0
UR  - https://library.alpha-hire.com/library/p/colorado
AB  - Colorado skilled-labor workforce exposure: composite WEI 76 (High, rising) at Q2 2026. IBEW Local 68 ratified a new 3-year agreement effective June 1, 2026 at $70.09/hr total package, escalating to $77.64/hr by 2028 — a real-time signal of compensation pressure. Xcel Energy is fielding 5.8 GW of data center load requests against approximately 6.2 GW of total generating capacity. 88% of AGC Colorado members report labor shortages. A living record, updated each quarter.
ER  -