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3,900 Nonfarm Payroll Jobs Added in January; Unemployment Rate Rises to 4.7 Percent

3,900 Nonfarm Payroll Jobs Added in January; Unemployment Rate Rises to 4.7 Percent

  Household survey data According to the survey of households, Colorado’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased one-tenth of a percentage point in January to 4.7 percent compared to the revised December rate of 4.6 percent. The number of unemployed individuals grew by 2,600 over the same time period to 152,800. The national unemployment rate decreased one-tenth of a percentage […]

Colorado Department of Revenue Announces Income Tax Processing Is Now Open, Shares Tax Benefits Information Hub to Help Coloradans Save Money

Colorado Department of Revenue Announces Income Tax Processing Is Now Open, Shares Tax Benefits Information Hub to Help Coloradans Save Money

DENVER, February 21, 2025 — The Colorado Department of Revenue today announced that the state has started processing income tax returns from third-party services and shared a new, online tax benefits hub to help taxpayers save potentially thousands of dollars. Found at Tax.Colorado.gov/SaveMoney, the new online resource offers tax benefits information in an easy-to-understand format and […]

Colorado unemployment rises to 4.4%, but state of job market murky due to data issues

Colorado unemployment rises to 4.4%, but state of job market murky due to data issues

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics won’t release job numbers for Colorado in March as dramatic revisions have sparked concerns over state data accuracy. Colorado’s unemployment rate rose to 4.4% in December, according to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, up from 4.3% the month before. The state’s unemployment rate is more than a […]

Prowers Economic Prosperity accepting applications for 2025 Business Enhancement Incentive Program

Prowers Economic Prosperity accepting applications for 2025 Business Enhancement Incentive Program

Tallie Harmon, Executive Director of PEP gave information about this year’s “Business Enhancement Incentive Program” at the January 28 Prowers County Commissioners Meeting. The program’s aim is to encourage small businesses to enhance the appearance of the fronts of their buildings.  Businesses must have their headquarters within Prowers County to be eligible. These improvements can […]

City of Lamar November 2024 Sales and Use Tax

City of Lamar November 2024 Sales and Use Tax

    City of Lamar November 2024 Sales and Use Tax November Sales and Use Tax Collected in December 2024 2024 2023 Difference from 2023 to 2024 Percentage of Difference City Sales Tax Collected (3%) $391,079.54 $374,204.19 $16,875.35 4.51% Use Tax Collected   $37,199.94 $18,681.55 $18,518.39 99.13% Other Collections (Penalties/Interest, Licenses, A/R’s) $2,210.66 -$959.00 $3,169.66 […]

Prowers Economic Development says goodbye to Cheryl Sanchez – welcomes Tallie Harmon as her replacement

Prowers Economic Development says goodbye to Cheryl Sanchez – welcomes Tallie Harmon as her replacement

Cheryl Sanchez, retiring Prowers Economic Prosperity Executive Director A surprise retirement party  was held on December 6th at Tavern 1301 for Cheryl Sanchez, who has retired as Executive Director of Prowers Economic Prosperity, a position she has held since 2020.  Before taking the helm at PEP, Cheryl was working in a similar community development capacity […]

Colorado General Assembly looking to cut funding for wolf reintroduction program to cover shortfall for new budget

Colorado General Assembly looking to cut funding for wolf reintroduction program to cover shortfall for new budget

The hunt for coins in the couch cushions — the Colorado General Assembly’s budget crafters are scrambling to find hundreds of millions of dollars to cover a shortfall projected for the 2025-26 budget and are eyeing wolf funding as a potential area to cut — is getting pushback from Colorado Parks and Wildlife. And the agency has […]

Colorado's fiscal deficit picture less bleak than expected

Colorado’s fiscal deficit picture less bleak than expected

Colorado’s fiscal deficit is just a little less bad than it was a few months ago. Meanwhile, there are signs that Colorado’s economy is slowing, even as unemployment is trending up. The December forecast from the General Assembly economists showed lightly improved revenues — the deficit for the 2025-26 budget year would be in the […]

November 2024 Employment Data from Colorado Dept. of Labor

November 2024 Employment Data from Colorado Dept. of Labor

  Household survey data According to the survey of households, the number of unemployed individuals grew by 4,600 to 139,300 from October to November. Colorado’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased two-tenths of a percentage point over the same time period to 4.3 percent. The national unemployment rate increased one-tenth of a percentage point to 4.2 percent from October to […]

Colorado marijuana sales — and tax dollars — are still falling. The rise of intoxicating hemp may be to blame.

Colorado marijuana sales — and tax dollars — are still falling. The rise of intoxicating hemp may be to blame.

Industrialhemp grows on a farm south of Montrose. ( William Woody, Special to The Colorado Sun   Marijuana sales peaked in Colorado in the 2020-21 budget year, when the state collected $424 million in taxes. That fell to $248 million last year. Forget the pandemic boom in marijuana sales — Colorado now collects fewer marijuana […]

Colorado owes taxpayers a total of 1.7 billion in TABOR refunds

Colorado owes taxpayers a total of 1.7 billion in TABOR refunds

The Colorado state government owes taxpayers a total of $1.7 billion in refunds mandated under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. The state collected roughly $1.4 billion more in revenue during the 2024 Fiscal Year than allowed under TABOR, according to a state audit. The state already has roughly $290 million in outstanding TABOR refund liability […]

Coloradans get TABOR refunds in 2025 though amount is lower than 2024's

Coloradans get TABOR refunds in 2025 though amount is lower than 2024’s

Coloradans are getting a present again in the New Year: TABOR refunds worth $1.7 billion. The money is from the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights program, which remits excess dollars paid in state revenue to eligible Colorado residents. This year’s TABOR refund is significantly lower than the prior year’s, which was $3.28 billion. However, Centennial State residents can […]

Colorado Employment Situation for September 2024

Colorado Employment Situation for September 2024

Household survey data According to the survey of households, the number of unemployed individuals grew by 2,300 to 130,800 from August to September. However, due to rounding, Colorado’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was unchanged over the same time period at 4.0 percent. The national unemployment rate decreased one-tenth of a percentage point to 4.1 percent from August to September. […]

Colorado policymakers asked PERA what it would take to bolster its odds of full funding. The answer: $13 billion.

Colorado policymakers asked PERA what it would take to bolster its odds of full funding. The answer: $13 billion.

The Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association has less than a 50-50 chance of reaching its goal of full funding by 2048 Six years and billions of dollars into Colorado’s 30-year pension rescue plan, the Public Employees’ Retirement Association has less than a 50-50 chance of reaching its goal of full funding by 2048. PERA officials […]

Colorado Employment Situation – August 2024 - 7,400 Nonfarm Payroll Jobs Added in August; Unemployment Rate Rises to 4.0 Percent

Colorado Employment Situation – August 2024 – 7,400 Nonfarm Payroll Jobs Added in August; Unemployment Rate Rises to 4.0 Percent

Household survey data • According to the survey of households, Colorado’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased one-tenth of a percentage point in August to 4.0 percent. The last time the unemployment rate for Colorado reached 4.0% was in January 2022. The number of unemployed individuals grew by 2,200 over the same time period to 128,500. […]