Colorado’s unemployment rate was 10.2% in May, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment said Friday, a slight improvement over the month before as businesses in the state began reopening after a weeks-long coronavirus shutdown. Colorado’s unemployment rate was 12.2% in April, its highest-ever level since the state began tracking unemployment levels in 1976. Initially the […]
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Posted inBusiness, News
Colorado has paid out more than $2 billion in unemployment benefits since March
Colorado has paid out more than $2.2 billion in unemployment benefits since late March as about 23,000 more people last week filed for aid from the state after losing their jobs. The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment says the payout figure includes money paid out as part of regular unemployment benefit as well as […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, News
Unemployment claims in Colorado continue to drop; more than 500,000 have sought aid since coronavirus began
The number of people filing for unemployment in Colorado dropped last week for a seventh straight week, continuing a trend that began in late April as businesses began reopening after the height of the state’s coronavirus crisis. There were 12,149 unemployment claims filed last week by people traditionally eligible for jobless benefits, according to the […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Michael Bennet: Coronavirus and a housing crisis go hand in hand. Congress must act.
It is hard to ask someone to socially distance if they have been forced out of their home. But in the middle of the worst pandemic in a century, we risk a new outbreak of evictions as 40 million Americans have lost their jobs and millions more struggle with reduced incomes. Colorado residents are about […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, News
Colorado unemployment filings decline for sixth straight week, though payouts remain high
Unemployment filings in Colorado declined for the sixth straight week last week as an increasing number of businesses in the state reopen their doors after being shut down because of the coronavirus crisis. The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment said on Thursday that 15,603 initial claims were filed last week by people normally eligible […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, News, Technology
Only 6% of calls to Colorado’s unemployment line are getting answered. But changes are on the horizon.
After weeks of random and unsuccessful calls to the state’s unemployment phone number, Jamie Scappaticci set aside Tuesday to connect with any living soul who’d answer the unemployment help line at 800-388-5515. The first-time filer had mistakenly let her benefits lapse in mid-April because she didn’t realize those on unemployment must request a payment every […]
Posted inPolitics and Government
A conversation about what to expect when the Colorado legislature returns to the Capitol on Tuesday
Colorado lawmakers return to the state Capitol on Tuesday to revive the legislative session after the spread of the coronavirus led to a 10-week intermission. But the lawmaking won’t look the same. In the time since lawmakers hit pause, the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything — including the priorities for the Democratic-led General Assembly. The disease […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, Growth, News, Politics and Government
Colorado’s unemployment rate hit 11.3% in April, its highest-ever level
Colorado’s unemployment rate hit 11.3% in April, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment said Friday, providing the clearest picture yet of how much the coronavirus crisis has devastated the state’s economy. The rate is the highest recorded since the state began tracking unemployment levels in 1976. The prior record was 8.9% in the fall […]
Posted inColoradans, COVID, Culture, Food and Restaurants, Health, Politics and Government
Food-assistance requests keep soaring in Colorado despite slowing coronavirus unemployment claims
Colorado families were struggling with food insecurity before the coronavirus crisis hit the state. Now, the state and advocacy organizations are scrambling to try to keep up with the flood of food assistance requests they’ve received in the wake of job losses and soaring unemployment claims. “One of the things that the coronavirus pandemic has […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, News
25,000 more Coloradans filed for unemployment last week, bringing coronavirus total to 476,000
More than 25,000 more Coloradans filed initial unemployment claims last month, bringing the total number of people in the state who have sought jobless benefits since the coronavirus crisis began to about 476,000. Of the new filings, 17,825 were regular unemployment claims while 7,633 were among gig workers and the self-employed, who traditionally aren’t eligible […]