DENVER (AP) – Colorado’s unemployment rate rose slightly to 8.1 percent in May, up from 7.9 percent in April.

The state says the change was caused by an increase in the number of people active in the labor force, without an increase in the number of people claiming they were employed.

The department says Colorado gained about 2,000 nonfarm payroll jobs from April to May, for a total of 2.3 million jobs.

The national unemployment rate increased one-tenth of a percentage point over the same period to 8.2 percent.

The largest gains were in financial services and leisure and hospitality.

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