2015 top job creators: oil and gas, construction lead the way in employment gains.

• Author: Caley, Nora

Everybody, back to work. According to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, businesses in the state added 3,700 nonfarm payroll jobs from December 2014 to January 2015, for a total of 2,496,500 jobs. That number is higher than the peak 2,362,700 jobs in May 2008. Full recovery, the report indicated, occurred in March 2013 when Colorado's nonfarm payroll jobs reached 2,363,500.

More good news from the state: Colorado's unemployment rate decreased from 5.8 percent in January 2014 to 4.2 percent a year later, which is lower than the national unemployment rate of 5.7 percent.

But it's important to bear in mind that some industries have created more jobs than others, says Brian Lewandowski, associate director of the Business Research Division of Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado Boulder.

According to the school's jobs report analysis, Colorado's top industry for growth was mining, which includes oil and gas. The industry added 4,100 jobs from December 2013 to December 2014, an increase of 13.1 percent. Many construction workers who were laid off during the housing bust went to work for oil and gas companies. "They had transferable skills," Lewandowski says. "Oil and gas pays even higher wages, so the grass was greener." The construction industry has rebounded with 7.5 percent job growth, the second highest percentage gain. Leisure and hospitality was third, with growth of 5.6 percent, followed by educational and health services. Manufacturing rounded out the top five after a decade-long decline. Lewandowski says the renaissance is due to a variety of products that Colorado companies produce. "We have a lot of high tech and aerospace, and there is growth in craft brewing," he said. "It is a different story than it was five years ago."

There have been ups and downs during that time. Denmark-based wind turbine manufacturer Vestas built four plants in Colorado. Demand for wind power fluctuated, and in 2013 Vestas laid off workers, then kickstarted hiring in 2014. Milwaukee-based ManpowerGroup partnered with Vestas for hiring last year, and is working with the company again to fill up to 400 positions at a plant in Windsor.

"Job seekers are excited about the positions that are available," says Frank Armendariz, regional vice president with Manpower. "These are not entry-level positions. They will be making anywhere from $35,000 to $40,000 a year."

Armendariz adds that confidence in the economy is increasing. According to a...