The gap between poor and rich continues to widen in Colorado despite the state’s apparent success in recovering from the Great Recession, a new study shows.
The inflation-adjusted median household income in Colorado dropped by $3,200 — a decline of 5.2 percent — from 2007 through 2013, according to the study from the Colorado Center on Law & Policy.
The income reduction occurred even though Colorado is one of only 16 states to have recovered all the jobs it lost during the recession.
“Although many economic indicators are positive, the reality is that many working families are not enjoying the benefits of the economic recovery,” said Claire Levy, executive director of the left-leaning policy center.
A similar study earlier this month by the Colorado Fiscal Institute found that the wealthiest 20 percent of Coloradans now earn 49.7 percent of all income in the state.
“The reason so many Coloradans feel like they aren’t getting ahead is because that is actually what is happening in economic terms,” institute spokesman Tim Hoover said. “If the Colorado economy were a person, it would still be wearing flannel, listening to Pearl Jam and watching ‘Friends.’ The economy has essentially been stuck in a time warp for more than two decades.”
In 2000, the inflation-adjusted median income in Colorado was $62,754. In 2013, that number dropped to $58,823.
Among findings from the Colorado Center on Law & Policy’s State of Working Colorado 2014 report:
• Colorado’s 2.4 million jobs represents an increase of 96,300 jobs compared with the start of the recession in December 2007, but job growth still has not kept pace with increased population in the state.
• One in five employed Coloradans are involuntarily working part time because they can’t find full-time jobs.
• Colorado’s unemployment rate of 5.5 percent in June, down steadily since the end of 2010, is still 2 percentage points higher than the pre-recession level.
• Colorado ranks among the top 20 states in the nation with the highest levels of income inequality.
• At all levels of education, the median household income for women was less than for men with comparable educations.
The report is a compilation of state and national data on jobs and income. The Colorado Center on Law & Policy said it is not yet making policy recommendations to address income inequality.
Steve Raabe: 303-954-1948, sraabe@denverpost.com or twitter.com/steveraabedp
