{"id":1320263,"date":"2020-05-29T12:21:49","date_gmt":"2020-05-29T18:21:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/?p=996802"},"modified":"2020-05-29T12:21:49","modified_gmt":"2020-05-29T18:21:49","slug":"nearly-500000-people-in-colorado-have-sought-unemployment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/nearly-500000-people-in-colorado-have-sought-unemployment\/","title":{"rendered":"Nearly 500,000 people in Colorado have sought unemployment"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As viewed through a fisheye lens, a lone pedestrian walks along Sixth Street pat shuttered shops closed to help in the effort to stop the spread of the new coronavirus, Wednesday, May 27, 2020, in Georgetown, Colo. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)<\/strong>
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DENVER (AP) \u2014 Nearly half a million people in Colorado have filed for state and federal unemployment benefits since the coronavirus pandemic hit in mid-March, double the number seen during the Great Recession, state labor officials said Thursday.<\/p>\n

Colorado has distributed roughly $1.65 billion in unemployment benefits since the end of March, including $850 million in federal funds supplementing state benefits as well as payments to gig workers and contractors, officials said.<\/p>\n

Colorado\u2019s unemployment rate has surged to a record 11.3% in April as the U.S. economy \u2014 and its workers \u2014 bear the weight of the pandemic. Colorado\u2019s food service, hospitality, retail and health care industries were hardest hit by health orders that closed businesses to stem the spread of the virus.<\/p>\n

Nationally, roughly 2.1 million people applied for unemployment benefits last week, a sign that companies are still slashing jobs even as more businesses reopen and recall laid-off employees.<\/p>\n

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