Colorado Recovery Watch - June 2012

The most recent economic data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for the month of June show a step in the wrong direction compared with May numbers. The month of June saw an increase in the state unemployment rate, which includes the self-employed and farm workers, as well as the state labor force. In addition, another survey reported data that excludes the self-employed and farm workers and showed a net decrease in employment for the month of June. Clearly, the recovery from the Great Recession has been timid at best and has yet to solidify in Colorado or nationwide. Fortunately, enrollment in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Supplementary Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, decreased in the month of April (the most recent data available), regaining some of the ground lost during the month of March.

Unemployment

In June, Colorado’s unemployment rate increased for the third consecutive month to 8.2 percent. (Figure 1) Although this 8.2 percent unemployment rate is still 0.2 percentage points lower than June of last year, it is a 0.1 percentage point increase from May and a return to the September 2011 level. The June unemployment rate is now over 4 percentage points higher than when the recession began and puts the Colorado unemployment rate even with the National unemployment rate.

Colorado’s unemployment rate is tied for 13^th highest among the 50 states.¹ Unfortunately, the most recent economic forecasts from the Colorado Legislative Council Staff, released in June, show a slightly disheartening outlook for the Nation’s and Colorado’s economy throughout the rest of 2012. The Colorado Legislative Council’s report notes that while the manufacturing sector and the real estate market have improved slightly, employment, income and consumer spending have slowed most likely due to the large amount of uncertainty in many aspects of the economy.²


In the latest edition of Colorado Recovery Watch, Rice Fellow Andrew Ball examines a range of data showing where the state of Colorado stands on the road to economic recovery.


Colorado Recovery watch is a monthly snapshot of economic data, with a special focus on jobs and public assistance programs. Read it online, along with other analysis of jobs and economic security from the Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute, a project of the Colorado Center on Law and Policy.



Andrew Ball
CC/Rice Fellow
aball@cclponline.org
303-573-5669 ext. 316