Colorado’s unemployment rate tied a record 8.8 percent in December, but there is a silver lining for those facing chronic joblessness: The state is likely to qualify for six weeks of extended federal emergency benefits.
The last time the state’s unemployment rate was 8.8 percent was for a few months in 1982 and 1983, and that’s the highest it’s been since the state began tracking the monthly rate in the mid-1970s, said Bill Thoennes, spokesman for the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.
The rate rose from 8.5 percent in November as total employment shrank but the labor force grew. A growing labor force indicates that some discouraged job seekers are returning to the market but also that the population is swelling.
States with unemployment rates averaging 8.5 percent or higher for three consecutive months qualify for six weeks of extended jobless benefits for those out of work for more than 93 weeks. Colorado’s rate reached or exceeded 8.5 percent since October.
There are just under 20,000 Coloradans who have exhausted their full 93 weeks of unemployment benefits and may be eligible for the extra six weeks, Thoennes said. Also, 2,000 to 3,000 more will reach that point each week in the near future and become eligible, he said.
Denver resident Anthony LaBate, 54, received his final unemployment check in October after about two years of looking unsuccessfully for work. He was laid off in 2008 from his job as a driver and supervisor for a Thornton-based operator of group homes for developmentally disabled adults.
He moved in with his mother in 2009 and has been looking for jobs ranging from fast-food work to warehouse worker.
“Every place I go, they tell me to file an application online, and you never hear back,” he said. “I don’t have money for gas. I sold my car to my brother, and I’m driving my mom’s car.”
LaBate is happy he may qualify for six additional weeks of unemployment checks of about $200 a week.
“Every bit helps,” he said. “I’ll be thankful if I can get it.”
The state is waiting for final notification of the additional benefits from the federal government, which is expected within two weeks. Officials are encouraging people who may qualify to register online at by clicking on “File for Emergency Unemployment Compensation.”
“We recognize there is a certain contradiction or irony, because by and large people are anxiously awaiting the day when the unemployment rate goes down,” Thoennes said. “But people who have been unemployed for a long time were rooting for a high rate in December because it directly affects them.”
Currently, 32 states already qualify for the full 99-week extended benefits. The extended benefits last only as long as a state’s three-month average unemployment rate is 8.5 percent or higher.
The unemployment rate rose in 20 states in December, fell in 15 states and was unchanged in 15, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The national unemployment rate was 9.4 percent in December, down from 9.8 percent in November.
The increase in December’s unemployment rate in Colorado didn’t surprise local economists, who have been predicting an uptick in joblessness as the economy stages a slow comeback from a recession that hit the state later than many other parts of the country. Economists are predicting modest job growth of 10,000 to 20,000 jobs in the state this year, which would reduce the ranks of unemployed by less than 10 percent.
Still, state officials noted a few positive trends. There was a slight increase in employment as reported by employers, known as “wage and salary” employment and considered a better economic gauge than the unemployment figure because it’s based on a broader survey. The unemployment rate, by contrast, is based on a smaller survey of individuals.
Wage and salary employment, on a seasonally adjusted basis, grew for the fourth consecutive month. December was the first month in more than two years in which year-over-year wage and salary employment grew in Colorado.
Among industries, leisure and hospitality added 2,700 jobs; trade, transportation and utilities added 1,200; and education and health services added 800. Government, manufacturing, financial activities, construction information, mining/logging and other services declined, while there was no change in professional and business services.
Greg Griffin: 303-954-1241 or ggriffin@denverpost.com
