WEEK OF MARCH 27, 2025
VOLUME 37| ISSUE 13
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Rough labor report for Colorado State unemployment was worse than previously thought in 2024 BY TAMARA CHUANG THE COLORADO SUN
Vizguerra said that her mother’s case had already seen considerable local and national attention as well as financial support for legal fees through donations, but that many others remained overlooked in immigration detention. “We’d love for more attention to go towards our community, especially in that detention center that hasn’t necessarily received the same attention and care that her case has received,” she said. Jeanette Vizguerra’s friend, who did not give her name, said Vizguerra would not want pity but instead would want her situation to be used to spark meaningful action.
Colorado’s unemployment rate increased by a tenth of a percentage point nearly every month last year. Then in January, the increase shot to 4.7%, up three-tenths of a point. While it may seem like something changed in January, it wasn’t as big of a jump as you’d think. Blame the increase on data revisions. As it does every March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics revises the data when new information comes in, such as “new population controls, re-estimation of models, and adjustment to new census division and national control totals,” said Tim Wonhof, program manager for the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment’s division of labor standards and statistics. Still, Wonhof added, this was pretty noteworthy. “It was a large revision,” he said in an email. “The January 2025 unemployment rate of 4.7% is elevated compared to a year ago, but it is still below the state’s historical average of ~5.2%.” Everything rose — the number of adults in Colorado’s labor force, the number employed and the number unemployed. More people joined or rejoined the state’s workforce in January, putting the state’s labor force participation rate at 68%, the sixth highest nationwide. The revisions led Colorado to change its average unemployment rate in 2024 to 4.3%, from 3.9%. Wonhof gave no explanation for the increase other than it’s the result of the usual data benchmarking process. Colorado tied with Alaska for seventh highest jobless rate in the U.S. The increase in January runs counter to Colorado’s recent past, at least compared to the national trend.
SEE ACTIVISTS, P7
SEE LABOR REPORT, P12
A protester holds up a sign supporting Jeanette Vizguerra’s release at the Auraria campus on March 19. PHOTO BY LONDON LYLE SEE ACTIVISTS, P7
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BUSINESS
On Auraria campus, activists call for Jeanette Vizguerra’s release BY LONDON LYLE SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
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Windy, biting cold didn’t stop hundreds from marching through the Auraria campus Wednesday in protest of the recent detention of activist Jeanette Vizguerra in an Aurora ICE facility. Vizguerra, who gained national attention in 2017 for seeking protection from deportation by living in Denver churches, has been a pillar of community activism, advocating for everything from local union workers’ rights to Palestinian liberation, her supporters said. On Monday, the mother and grandmother was arrested at her workplace, a move that her lawyers have argued is illegal.
Khalid Hamu, speaking on behalf of Students for a Democratic Society, opened the rally by noting the significance of Vizguerra’s detention. “Taking someone like this away is an attack on all of us here today,” Hamu said. Vizguerra’s daughter, Luna Vizguerra, gave an emotional update to the crowd on her mother’s status and expressed gratitude for the community’s support. “My mom is very very thankful to the community and all of the efforts that you guys have put forward,” Vizguerra said. “Hopefully we can mobilize and not only help my mom, but help anyone else affected by this issue. It affects families that are a lot more scared to speak out than my mom has been, or many of us are able to.”
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