Colorado expected to see more job losses in months ahead despite gradual reopening

When the April unemployment report came out last month, it seemed Colorado might have dodged the worst of pandemic dislocations. It nursed an 11.3% unemployment rate, among the 10 lowest in the country, while states like Nevada and Michigan were above 20%.

But IHS Markit is predicting that by early next year, Colorado will have some of the largest employment losses of any state.

“Colorado will be in the top 10 for job losses, fifth-worst,” said Karl Kuykendall, associate director of regional economics with IHS Markit, which provides economic and industry-level forecasts and data.

The forecast, out Monday, calls for non-farm employment in Colorado to fall 16.4% between the first quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021. Only Florida, Michigan, Massachusetts and Nevada are expected to have larger percentage declines. Colorado’s economy will suffer proportionately more job losses than even New York, which was at the epicenter of the outbreak.

What that seems to indicate is that the worst is not over. Many of the jobs lost in March and April won’t be coming back and more losses are coming in Colorado in the months ahead.

Read the full story on denverpost.com.

via:: Summit Daily