DENVER – A coalition of more than 75 businesses and organizations led by the Colorado Chamber of Commerce today sent a letter to legislators in the General Assembly calling for Unemployment Insurance relief. The Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund (UITF) was fully depleted in the height of the pandemic and employers face substantial premium increases that could impede economic recovery.
“This session, the state legislature has the opportunity to provide real relief to businesses and their employees across Colorado, setting us on the course to recovery for years to come,” the letter states. “One of the single most effective actions that can be taken to accomplish this goal is replenishing the UITF, which is funded solely on the backs of employers to compensate workers for unemployment claims.”
The letter, sent to legislative leadership and members of the Colorado Joint Budget Committee and the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, asks lawmakers to support Gov. Jared Polis’ budget proposal, which would dedicate $600 million in relief for the UITF this legislative session.
“Unless legislators take action now, every business in Colorado will face historically high premium increases in the coming years – especially those that had to lay off workers through no fault of their own,” said the coalition of businesses. “It would be unconscionable to put this burden on the backs of businesses in these already difficult economic times.”
The rate at which Unemployment Insurance premiums will increase for each business depends on several factors, like number of employees, wages, and how many former employees utilized unemployment. The nonpartisan Common Sense Institute (CSI) recently released an analysis indicating that compared to a 2020 baseline, Colorado employers face $5.3 billion in additional state and federal unemployment insurance payroll taxes between 2023 and 2027. In addition, if the state’s federal Unemployment Insurance loan is not repaid soon, employers will have to pay the federal government twice as much in 2024 and three times as much in 2026 as they do now.
The coalition of businesses calling for UITF relief represents thousands of job creators employing hundreds of thousands of Coloradans from businesses of all sizes, industries, and areas of the state. To view the letter in full, please click here.
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The Colorado Chamber of Commerce champions free enterprise, a healthy business environment and economic prosperity for all Coloradans. It is the only business association that works to improve the business climate for all sizes of business from a statewide, multi-industry perspective. What the Colorado Chamber accomplishes is good for all businesses, and that’s good for the state’s economy. It was created in 1965 based on the merger with the Colorado Manufacturers’ Association.