Colorado’s economy continues to improve from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, but that was expected as businesses adapted and employees returned to work. We are, after all, nearly two years from Spring 2020’s massive business disruptions. What makes Colorado’s economy stand out is how much better — or worse — it has recovered compared […]
jobs
Posted inBusiness, COVID, Economy, News
Why Coloradans have quit their jobs: “What price my soul?”
After 10 years at her job, Nancy Johnson walked away on New Year’s Eve. Her employer offered good health benefits and made use of her more than two decades of medical billing experience. But she’d hit a wage wall. The Carbondale resident had even become a certified medical coder because it was a path to […]
Posted inBusiness, Economy, News, Outdoors, Politics and Government
Judge rejects Colorado rafting outfitters’ lawsuit protesting mandatory minimum wage for guides
A federal judge has rejected a lawsuit filed by Colorado rafting companies seeking to block a new rule that raised the minimum wage for federal contractors to $15 an hour. “We will appeal and continue to press forward,” said Duke Bradford, the owner of Arkansas Valley Adventures who joined the Colorado River Outfitters Association in […]
Posted inBusiness, Economy, News
Judge issues temporary restraining order against union as King Soopers strike heads into second week
A week into the planned three-week labor strikes outside 77 King Soopers stores from Boulder to Parker and there’s no new contract in sight. And now, there’s also a temporary restraining order. King Soopers on Tuesday said that a court granted the restraining order against the union because the “union’s actions were unlawful and unsafe […]
Posted inBusiness, Economy, News
What’s Working: Colorado Springs is the only metro area that has recovered all jobs lost in the pandemic
Colorado continues to recover jobs lost at the start of the COVID pandemic. In November, the state’s job recovery rate reached 85.7%, the 17th fastest in the nation, according to new labor department data. But only one metro area in the state has recovered all of its lost jobs: Colorado Springs. The region now has […]
Posted inNews
What it’s like to hunt for a job in Colorado when you’re over 50
Cat McQueen, who joined the throngs of Coloradans who lost their jobs in the pandemic, has a droll sense of humor when sharing what it’s been like to look for a job at age 63. There’s the you-have-an-impressive-resume-but-we-went-with-someone-else response. “If you have impressive qualifications, what other qualifications do they seek,” wonders McQueen, who lost her […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Employees with disabilities can get the job done
America needs workers. The latest reports from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics show more job openings than people to fill them. Yet, as desperate as they are for employees, employers continue to put barriers in front of job applicants with disabilities. They would do well to remember that individuals in the disabled community can […]
Posted inBusiness, Economy, News
We may never know how many of Colorado’s missing workers died of COVID-19
Some readers have asked more than once: How many workers in Colorado died of COVID-19? It’s a valid question for this column because, as previously reported, Colorado has fewer people in the labor force these days compared with April. We’re also still down from 2019. While it’s impossible to know the exact number without contacting […]
Posted inCartoons, Opinion
Drew Litton: More challenges await Colorado’s coming ski season
More cartoons from The Colorado Sun.
Posted inBusiness, Economy, Equity, Growth, News, Technology
Where have Colorado’s workers gone? Some say: “We’re still here. Hire us!”
THORNTON — Ground zero for what’s happening to Colorado’s labor market may as well be right here, in Amazon’s 2.4 million-square-foot warehouse where employees work alongside orange 320-pound robots. The mechanical creatures look like massive robotic vacuum cleaners. But instead of lifting dirt, each robot can lift yellow storage pods filled with random products and […]