EARN in Colorado

Colorado Network publications

• The State of Low-Wage Employment in Colorado

  • August 30, 2019
  • Colorado Fiscal Institute
  • Chris Stiffler

  While Colorado’s economy has grown at a brisk pace since the Great Recession and hundreds of thousands of new jobs have been created, a significant amount of jobs in the state barely pay enough to let those who work them make ends meet. Since low-wage jobs make up more than 1/4 of all jobs statewide, […]

  Jobs Minimum Wage Wages

• Collective bargaining can reduce turnover and improve public services in Colorado

  • April 9, 2019
  • Rich Jones

  Since 2009, there has been a growing problem in Colorado with increasing employee turnover, programs operating with short staffing forcing employees to work extensive overtime, and low morale that jeopardizes vital public services.  The growing turnover is complicated by the difficulty filling authorized positions. Research shows that collective bargaining for public sector employees, coupled with […]

  Racial Justice Unions Wages

• State of Working Colorado 2018

  • January 14, 2019
  • Colorado Center on Law and Policy
  • Michelle Webster & Claire Sheridan

  At a cursory glance, Colorado has much to celebrate in terms of low unemployment and poverty levels, but scratching the surface of the data reveals troubling trends fraught with wage stagnation and disparities. CCLP produces the State of Working Colorado every year to gauge how the economy is performing for workers across the income spectrum. The publication […]

  Income Jobs Racial Justice State of Working X Unions Wages

• Modernizing Overtime Rules in Colorado

  • May 1, 2018
  • Bell Policy Center
  • Samantha Saccomanno and Rich Jones

  Workers should be paid for the hours they work. However, many salaried workers who work overtime miss out on valuable compensation when those hours are unpaid. Changing current overtime rules in Colorado to ensure these workers are accurately paid for the hours they work over 40 a week would boost their earnings, address the financial […]

  Overtime Wages

• Wages for American workers are ticking upward, but the US remains one of the world’s most inequitable nations

  • February 9, 2018
  • Colorado Center on Law and Policy
  • Jason Margolis - PRI

  From PRI: Last week it was reported that average hourly wages of American workers grew 2.9 percent over the past 12 months. It’s a good sign, but American workers still have a lot of catching up to do and income inequality and wage stagnation remain major concerns…Yes, national wages inched up last year. But consider […]

  Jobs Minimum Wage Wages

• Grinch America steps up a tad on workers’ wages

  • February 5, 2018
  • Colorado Center on Law and Policy
  • Denver Post Editorial Board

  Recent signs suggest worker pay is finally rising after years of stagnation despite an economy that has been steadily chugging along since 2009. The latest jobs report from the Labor Department shows that low unemployment is pushing up wages a bit. Employers added 200,000 jobs in January and private-sector workers, on average, saw their paychecks increase nearly […]

  Jobs Wages

• Worker’s Friend Or Business Drag? One Year Of Colorado’s Increased Minimum Wage

  • December 28, 2017
  • Colorado Center on Law and Policy
  • Colorado Public Radio

  On Monday, New Year’s Day, some workers in Colorado will get a pay raise. The minimum wage will increase 90 cents, from $9.30 to $10.20 an hour. This is because Colorado voters passed a law that gradually increases the minimum wage; by the final year of the plan, in 2020, it will grow to $12 an hour. As was the […]

  Minimum Wage

• Colorado unemployment is super low, so why aren’t wages going up faster?

  • December 19, 2017
  • Colorado Center on Law and Policy
  • Aldo Svaldi - Denver Post

  Colorado’s economy, on the surface, is humming along with unemployment rates at historic lows and some of the strongest job gains in the country. But a closer look shows that median hourly wages are stuck; many of the new jobs being added are low-paying; and thousands of working-age adults remain disengaged from the labor force, according to […]

  Jobs State of Working X Wages

• Shame on Grinch America for workers’ stagnant wages

  • December 19, 2017
  • Colorado Center on Law and Policy
  • Denver Post Editorial Board

  As Coloradans shop for loved ones this holiday season, too many of them will be doing so on the cheap, or even resigning themselves to the giving of good wishes instead. The reason for any stinginess in the season won’t be because these hard workers look to the Grinch for inspiration, but because wages are […]

  Jobs Wages

• State of Working Colorado

  • December 17, 2017
  • Colorado Center on Law and Policy
  • Michelle Webster, Jesus Loayza

  Colorado has one of the strongest performing economies in the country. Job growth has been robust for the past several years, consistently ranking Colorado among the top states for job creation. The unemployment rate has dropped steadily since 2010 to 3.3 percent in 2016. Real median household income continues to grow and is now slightly […]

  Income Jobs Minimum Wage Racial Justice State of Working X Wages