Comment on Today’s Depressing Jobs Report

Date: July 01, 2020

Uncertainty stifling the Colorado economy

DENVER, July 1, 2020—The release of today’s monthly Jobs Report from NFIB showed, to little surprise, a worsening economy, and it highlighted the great uncertainty now gripping the Main Streets of Colorado.

“The coronavirus crisis is not of Colorado’s making, but the state could do more to help all of us weather it,” said Tony Gagliardi, Colorado state director for NFIB. “We cannot wait for Congress to come up with liability reform to protect our small businesses from unjustly being sued by their employees and customers who claim to have contracted COVID-19 at a place of business even though they cannot prove it. There’s already anxiety I’m hearing from small business owners who have employees calling in sick with a fever and the national Centers for Disease Control says you cannot force a person to be tested, but Colorado law says they can only return to work with a doctor’s release if they’ve been out for four consecutive days. Worries like this and many others are contributing to the great uncertainty throughout the land, and Colorado, for its part, will not get around to doing anything about them until January when its Legislature reconvenes.”

Today’s Jobs Report showed the small business labor market has further weakened in June. Firms reduced employment by 0.28 workers per firm over the past month, weaker than the decrease of 0.17 workers per firm in May. Unchanged from last month, 6% reported increasing employment an average of 2.6 workers per firm and 22% (up one point) reported reducing employment an average of 4.6 workers per firm (seasonally adjusted).

Commented NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg, “As states change reopening rules and dates, sometimes easing restrictions, small businesses are feeling various levels of uncertainty as to what comes next. With recent COVID-19 spikes in some cases, many state governments are reversing prior decisions and reducing the potential for small business to earn needed revenue.”

Click here to read NFIB’s national news release on the Jobs Report.

Keep up with the latest Colorado small-business news at www.nfib.com/colorado or by following NFIB on Twitter @NFIB_CO or on Facebook @NFIB.CO

Contact: Tony Gagliardi, Colorado State Director, [email protected],
or Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager, [email protected]

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For more than 77 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven association. Since its founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.

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1700 Lincoln Street, 17th Floor
Denver, CO 80203
303-860-1778
www.nfib.com/colorado
Twitter: @NFIB_CO
Facebook: NFIB.CO

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