Colorado’s unemployment rate hit 30-year high of 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, in part because more Coloradans entered the work force even though employers reported a slight gain in jobs.
States with unemployment at or above 8.5 percent 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, two to three thousand more will reach that point each week in the near future and become eligible, he said.
The state is waiting for final notification from the federal government, which is expected within two weeks. But 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 high rate in December because it directly affects them.”
Currently, 32 states already qualify for the full 99-week extended benefits.
Greg Griffin: 303-954-1241 or ggriffin@denverpost.com
