While much attention has been paid to the headline unemployment rates in Colorado and the nation as a whole, just below the surface lingers a more damaging picture of Colorado’s stalled economy under the Obama administration.  Not only do we have fewer people working in this state than we did four years ago, but Colorado has witnessed a sharp decline in high paying, “good jobs” in critical industries such as IT, financial services, and manufacturing.

Viewed alongside the fact that the state’s population growth rate over the past decade has been approximately 1.6% per annum, an even bleaker picture regarding jobs and the gainfully employed in Colorado comes into focus:  Colorado’s labor force has contracted by more than 24,000 people during Obama’s term, while the state’s population grew by nearly 240,000. This fact makes the real employment situation in Colorado significantly worse than what is recorded by official numbers, as The Colorado Observer pointed out.

Who is hurt the most by the Obama economy in Colorado?

Unfortunately, the answer is the least educated, least skilled, and least socially-connected of us all.  Not too long ago any person who was willing to show up, work hard, and do well could reasonably expect to find a job.  Not so any more.  Perhaps the construction industry, a sector absolutely devastated during Obama’s term in office, was at one point a great opportunity for these low skilled workers to find a job that offered good pay, an opportunity to learn marketable skills, and a chance for advancement.  Under Obama’s watch in Colorado, the state has lost an astonishing 31,200 jobs in this sector.  And the number is not getting any better in 2012.

Finally, something worth noting is the strength of government employment in Colorado under Obama, with government payrolls tacking on a net 4,800 jobs in Colorado during his term in office thus far.  Perhaps this seems like a good thing; however, as government bureacracy increases, so too does the state budget and burdensome government bureacracy.

This is just further proof that Obama’s economic policies and Keynesian economics are not working.