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| 11/27/2009 1:24:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article | Park County unemployment drops for fourth straight month
But workforce has shrunk by 4.1 percent versus year ago
Debra Orecchio
Correspondent
Unemployment continues to drop in Park County; October was the fourth straight month that saw a decrease in the unemployment rate. Data from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment shows that the not-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 5.5 percent in October, down from 6.1 percent in September.
That's the lowest rate since December of last year, when it was also 5.5 percent. Unemployment in the county reached a high of 7.5 percent in March of this year.
While last month's 5.5 percent unemployment rate was an improvement compared with September, it was still six-tenths of a percentage point higher than the 4.9 percent seen in October 2008.
The rate has been on a downward trend since June of this year, when it was 7.3 percent. July saw a rate of 6.9 percent, and in August, the rate was 6.2.
But the number of people in the labor force has also been on the decrease, which could indicate that people are dropping out of the labor force.
In an interview last month, Bill Thoennes, public information officer for the Department of Labor, said that people opt out of the work force for a variety of reasons, including to return to school or open their own business. But there are people, known as the discouraged workers, who have stopped looking for work.
In October, there were a total of 9,518 people in the labor force in Park County. That's down from the 9,554 in September. In October 2008, there were 9,928 in the labor force. The number of people employed increased slightly in October, to 8,990, compared with 8,984 in September. But that is down from 9,446 employed people in the county in October of last year
That year-over-year decline of 410 people in the labor force in the county represents a drop of 4.1 percent.
The number of people unmployed in the county is on a downward trend. In October, 528 Park County residents were unemployed, down from 586 in September. There were 482 unemployed residents in October 2008.
Across Colorado, the seasonally adjusted unemployment decreased for the third straight month, down to 6.9 percent in October. Unemployment reached a high of 7.8 percent in July of this year. In August, the rate dropped to 7.3 percent. September saw another decline to 7.0 percent.
However, the not-seasonally-adjusted rate of unemployment increased five-tenths of a percentage point in October, to 6.6 percent, up from the 6.1 percent unemployment rate seen in September.
Good news
Things are looking up for Bailey resident Sue Strahl. She attended the Mountain Job Fair back in October and landed a job interview with Primerica Financial Services.
Strahl had been unemployed since December of last year. She's been picking up whatever work she could find, including painting and cleaning houses. She was able to keep up with all the bills, except the mortgage. She was worried she would lose her home, but her bank has finally agreed to a payment plan.
And now she's started training with Primerica. Once she finishes all the training, she will begin helping people with their finances. Since she just started training, she's not sure of all the details, except that she'll be presenting people with what options are available to them.
She's excited about her new position because she sees it as a way to help others.
"I actually see some good things happening for once," she said. "It's been a while since I've seen that."
The national picture
The national pciture is a bit different, with unemployment continuing to rise. Nationally, seasonally adjusted unemployment reached 10.2 percent in October, up from 9.8 in September, and up from 6.6 percent in October 2008.
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