February 6, 2009

In the wake of recent jobs report, and with the Colorado unemployment rate at the highest level in five years, U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (CO-07) is urging Congress to take decisive action to pass the Economic Recovery Act on behalf of all Coloradans.

New labor department statistics released last week place the Colorado unemployment rate at 6.1%, an increase of 2.1% from December of 2007.
“The time to act is now,” stressed Perlmutter. “The people of Colorado have charged their representatives to put partisanship aside and do the difficult work of stabilizing the economy and easing the squeeze felt by so many people across our state,” stated Perlmutter.

The economic downturn has had drastic consequences within Colorado, and statistics show minority populations have been hit especially hard. The unemployment rate among the state’s Hispanic population has jumped to 7.7%, African-American workers have seen unemployment numbers rise to 6.6%, while the state’s white unemployment rate hovers at 4.9%.

As passed by the House of Representatives last week, HR 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act could create close to 100,000 jobs within Colorado. The House version has far reaching benefits within Colorado including funding and job creation for education, infrastructure and transportation projects.

Perlmutter continued, “These numbers send a clear signal that something must be passed by Congress and signed into law in order to stabilize job loss and bring opportunity for Americans looking for work. For far too long, partisanship and entrenched ideologies have stood in the way of true economic recovery, and we must seize this opportunity to go to bat for the people of Colorado.”

The House passed H.R.1 on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2009, and the Senate is continuing their negotiations.