The unemployment rate in Colorado has fallen two months in a row, standing at seven percent as of September, leading Donald Mares, the state’s executive director of labor and employment, to proclaim, “The worst is behind us.”

The Denver Business Journal cites a report noting the jobless rate is at its lowest since January and is 2.8 points below the nation’s rate of 9.8 percent for September. Mares adds, “the trend of fewer job losses should continue in coming months.”

Not everyone is as optimistic, however, including economist (and perennial pessimist) Tucker Hart Adams, who tells The Associated Press fewer people have jobs, adding that many are either giving up on finding work, returning to school, or settling on one or more part-time jobs. “I don’t think it’s a healthy labor economy,” she says.

Overall, unemployment is a spotty picture in Colorado. While there is improvement in northern Colorado, for instance, the rate for the Greeley metro area is 7.5 percent, while the rate for the Fort Collins-Loveland area is a mere 5.6 percent, according to the Northern Colorado Business Report.