The number of jobs available across Summit County, and the state, has increased significantly over last year.

Looking at online job postings, the number of Summit County positions available increased 67.5 percent in May 2012 compared to May 2011 – from 265 to 444 – with most of the available jobs in the leisure and hospitality industries. Across Colorado during the same period, the numbers are up 22.9 percent, according to Alexandra Hall, chief economist for the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.

“Online job ads have increased quite a bit for the nation, the state of Colorado and Summit County over the year,” Hall said.

The data is taken from The Conference Board’s Help Wanted OnLine – which follows labor supply/demand trends – and although it doesn’t include every job opening, it is a fairly comprehensive indicator, Hall said. However, a number of jobs in smaller mountain areas like Summit might not be advertised online.

Even so, the numbers are looking pretty good for Summit, which is an indication local businesses are anticipating more tourist activity, Hall said.

Over the last month, Vail Resorts, City Market, Pizza Hut, Marriott’s Mountain Valley Lodge and Centura Health made up the top five companies in terms of Summit County hiring, according to data from The Conference Board.

While detailed numbers weren’t available for Summit, as of May, Colorado has recovered about 54.5 percent of the jobs lost in the recession; nationally, the number is 42.9 percent.

“So we’re faring a little bit better than the nation as a whole,” Hall said.

In May, the most recent data available, Summit County’s unemployment rate was 10.5 percent, compared to 10.8 percent in May of 2011, according to Bill Thoennes, Colorado Department of Labor and Employment spokesman.

Although, it is important to note that county employment rates are not adjusted for seasonality, so there’s a wild swing as winter turns into spring, the ski industry downsizes and summer recreational jobs haven’t popped up yet, Thoennes said.

In April, Summit’s unemployment rate was 6.6 percent.

So far, the soon-to-be open Silverthorne home improvement store has almost 51 positions filled, and 89 more to fill with interviews for those starting next week, according to store manager Doug Cousino. The jobs are a mixture of both full- and part-time.

Cousino is seeing a decent response to all the open positions, he said, with most applicants coming from within Summit County, and a few current Lowe’s employees from across the country.

Cousino couldn’t talk about the pay range offered, although he said it’s quite competitive compared to similar positions across the area.

The store is expected will open mid-August.