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Common Sense Institute Releases COVID-19 Labor Force & Jobs Report

The Common Sense Institute (CSI) today released its latest report on the Colorado labor force. CSI is a non-partisan research organization dedicated to the protection and promotion of Colorado’s economy.

Key findings of the report include:

  • The Colorado labor force participation rate (LFPR) was 67.5% in November. This rate was 2 percentage points below the February level of 69.4%, indicating approximately 90,000 fewer people in the Colorado labor force.
  • The Colorado unemployment rate remained at 6.4%, virtually unchanged since September. It remained flat as both the number of jobs and the size of the labor force declined at a similar rate. It peaked at 12.2% in April, 9.7 percentage points above the February rate of 2.5%.
  • While the November labor force and jobs reports indicate early signs of a declining economy, the weekly unemployment insurance claims show the economic health of Colorado worsening through the holidays. Regular continued unemployment insurance claims fell from the peak in May of 265,000 to 79,000 during the week of November 21st. However, total continued claims increased to 280,000 as of the week of December 19th, and initial claims climbed from 7,000 weekly claims during week of October 24th to 44,000 initial claims during the week of Christmas.

To view the full report, click here.