Colorado didn't add as many jobs as forecast in 2024.
How do we know? Well the reason for our state not having as rosy an economic picture as we thought it did is because our state's job data is finally close to the point of being trustworthy.
Dating back to 2023 and continuing until recently (see a link to a 2023 newsletter and a 2024 newsletter giving background first and second below along with a few day's old CPR story linked third) our state's Department of Labor and Employment has been bungling around, repeatedly messing up employment data.**
They've not been understating the problem. No, time and time again, their bad numbers have consistently been overestimates. The problem has gotten so bad that the Feds last year decided to stop using Colorado's self-reported data on employment in their job reports.
A quote from the Mar 2025 story lays out the problem. "Colorado added 33,200 jobs last year, about half of previous estimates, according to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. Colorado’s unemployment rate ended the year at 4.3 percent, up from a 3.9 percent estimate. That means Colorado’s job growth is lagging the rest of the country. The U.S. unemployment rate was 4 percent in 2024."
In some sense, the problem isn't dire. Per the quote above, we have a situation where we didn't lose jobs, just didn't gain anywhere near what was estimated.
But now, continue to the bottom of the quote and note that the previous estimates of unemployment were 3.9% while a better estimate (and also one ABOVE the national average) is 4.3%. 1.25 times higher.
The economy and where it stands at any given time are big in politics. Economic-health metrics like unemployment being a great example.
I have to be honest that I wonder how influential they are to people: that is, I wonder if people are paying more attention to things like whether they have a job, feel secure in it, and what the price of essentials at the grocery are, but these numbers are something politicians love to brag about or beat each other over the head with.
To wit, I present you links 4 and 5 below. They are 2024 and 2025 news stories where our governor--the head of the executive branch and thus the one bearing ultimate responsibility for the Department of Labor and Employment along with their false numbers and bungling--brags about Colorado's employment numbers.
I don't know what Polis knows, what he knew, and when he knew it, but golly it sure seems like he'd be more aware of the fact (it has been no secret) that the pretty picture painted by Colorado's employment numbers was uncertain at best.
Is he that out of touch?
Is/was he shining Colorado on?
And, perhaps just as importantly, will the Front Range media be asking him any questions about all this?
Ha! Got you with that last one. No. No they won't. See the "related" content below.
One last nibble. According to the March 2025 article Colorado has (after only a couple years) fixed the issue and so now the Feds can trust our numbers again.
**I wish I could say this was all they've messed up on. Polis' Department of Labor and Employment has messed up their employer payment system, messed up getting unemployment payments out to those due them, struggled to deal with fraud. They make the clowns at the circus look well-organized.
https://coloradoaccountabilityproject.substack.com/p/how-speed-limits-are-calculated-and?utm_source=publication-search
https://coloradoaccountabilityproject.substack.com/p/how-are-we-supposed-to-problem-solve?utm_source=publication-search
https://www.cpr.org/2025/03/18/colorado-job-market-data-shows-slowing/
https://www.coloradopolitics.com/economy/polis-colorado-lawmakers-unveil-bills-to-address-workforce-shortages/article_b9a83c1c-dcc3-11ee-b79b-43648a7d7556.html
https://www.cpr.org/2023/01/04/colorado-job-openings-hiring-plan/
Related:
I mentioned above that the media will not be asking Governor Polis about the bad unemployment numbers or his claims about Colorado's unemployment numbers from that same time.
How do I guess this?
The screenshot attached is from the March 2025 CPR article I used as a reference in that post.
This is a Colorado problem. It's been two years in the making. It stems from issues in a state agency run by Governor Jared Polis.
And it's Trump folks. It's Trump. Always room for that.
Using the State's Ethics Commission on Metro Districts. What do you think?
HB25-1079 (linked below along with a CBS News story touching on the bill, among other things) would bring metro district boards under the jurisdiction of the states independent ethics commission.
This would empower ordinary citizens in ways they don't enjoy now with metro districts since, quoting the CBS story, "[m]embers of the public can make complaints to the Ethics Commission, which can then investigate and issue penalties for ethics violations, including fines or legal action."
It's important to note that this bill is not written specifically toward Metro Districts, however. A whole lot of smaller, local government officials are brought under the jurisdiction of the state.
Quoting the bill's fiscal note, this bill "... expands the jurisdiction of the Independent Ethics Commission to include school district board members, superintendents, and administrators, and special district board members and their direct reports."
That's concerning. I don't like so much state-level intrusion into local government affairs on principle.
I got a thing about Metro Districts, I have for some time. They're not all bad, but too many of them are shady. I would welcome the state stepping in there and giving citizens yet another way to check them. Thing is, I don't know that I welcome that at the expense of including so many other smaller governmental entitles that are not crooked.
The cost of getting Metro Districts is too high if it sweeps so many others in with them. Probably no surprise either that so many of the smaller governmental units oppose the bill. Quoting the CBS article again: "The bill [HB25-1079] is opposed by lobbyists representing Denver Public Schools, the Colorado Association of School Boards and the Special District Association of Colorado."
I am a no on this bill for that reason. While I am supportive of the effort to regulate Metro Districts and tip the balance of power back to the people, it comes with too much collateral damage here.
What do you think?
https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb25-1079
https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/state-lawmakers-metro-districts-colorado-house-weighs-oversight-bill/
Budget Footnotes About Wolf Reintroduction
Per the Colorado Politics article linked at bottom, the Joint Budget Committee of the Colorado legislature added some footnotes** to this year's budget for CPW re. wolf reintroduction.
Quoting the article from three separate places:
"The first [footnote] said the annual $2.1 million general fund appropriation should be used to implement Proposition 114, the narrowly-adopted 2020 ballot measure that resulted in the introduction of 20 wolves in Colorado. ...That standard footnote has been included in the budget bill for several years."
and,
"The second [footnote] deals with the petition submitted last September by 22 agricultural groups and other parties, such as Colorado Counties, Inc. They asked Colorado Parks and Wildlife to hold off on any further releases of the apex predators until a fully-fledged wolf management program had been implemented. 'It is the General Assembly's intent that the portion of these funds that are intended to be appropriated for the implementation of Proposition 114 not be spent on any future wolf reintroduction unless and until full and complete implementation of all state funded preventative measures discussed by the Parks and Wildlife Commission as part of its denial of a citizen petition to half wolf reintroduction during its January 8, 2025, meeting,' said the footnote approved by the Joint Budget Committee on March 17."
lastly,
"A third footnote requires CPW to provide a report on wolf depredations by Nov. 1, 2025. The agency released a report last September that included nothing on depredation problems. CPW claimed it left out that information because it was following a "biological" year from April 1 to March 31."
There are more details about the issue and the "sausage-making" going on at the legislature in the article which I will leave to you to read.
There are a couple things left to mention, however. The first is that the budget still needs to pass the legislature and be signed by the governor for this to be sent along to CPW. Meaning, things are still a ways off. The second is that it's within the power of the governor to veto specific footnotes. The speculation is that the governor wouldn't veto the footnotes (something within his power to do), but who can predict the future, esp the future with Polis?
If you want to advocate on this, your best bet is to contact your state rep or senator and ask him or her to work to make sure the footnotes are included in the budget. Ask him or her to speak openly in favor of them during debate.
Talk about this in either chamber will send a strong signal to the governor that he SHOULDN'T veto.
More updates as I have them.
**Per the article, quoting, footnotes " ... are directions to state departments on administering appropriations". Meaning it's the Joint Budget Committee telling (in this case) CPW how to administer the money they're giving them. Sometimes these directions are a bit of a sticky wicket in that they come up to the line of separation of powers. The legislature has the power of the purse, but usually it's up to the executive branch--the governor--to decide how to execute the will of the legislature.
https://www.coloradopolitics.com/news/colorado-wolf-reintroduction-footnote/article_183781d1-6bd7-4a54-8142-594ec2d8c6df.html
That photo of Polis reminds me of Tony Soprano in the weekly much watched and loved drama, The Sopranos.
I've been around here for quite a while, and I can think of no governor who did less than Jared Polis. He'll be known as the broken steam valve on a high pressure progressive legislative steam line. Most of the scalding progressive water vapor got through despite his feeble attempt at controlling the flow. He'll be known as the Californification governor from Boulder.