Colorado economy is taking a toll while unemployment skyrockets

A decline in Colorado business filings reflects the economic fallout caused by the new coronavirus pandemic, according to The Quarterly Business and Economic Indicators report published Thursday.

Compared to the first quarter of last year, there has been a 5.6 decline in filings from new corporations, nonprofits, and other entities in the first quarter of this year, the report shows.

A decade of job growth in Colorado has come to an end with a spike in jobless claims — 105,073 for the week ending April 11, according to the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office. The 301,177 jobless claims over the past five weeks is equal to the number of jobless claims over the past three full years combined.

The latest unemployment data shows Colorado’s unemployment rate increased from 2.5 percent to 4.5 percent in the month of March. Colorado’s unemployment rate is now higher than the U.S. unemployment rate of 4.4 percent.

“Before the pandemic, Colorado’s economy was outperforming the nation. Now, unemployment more than doubled in a month and many small businesses are struggling to keep their doors open,” Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said in a statement.

“The federal stimulus packages passed are a start, but Congress must take additional action focused on small businesses and everyday people immediately.”

The quarterly indicators report, which is prepared by the University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds Business Research Division and the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office, shows trademark filings are down by more than 15 percent