DOL reports jobless claims drop, but local owners say hiring is still tough

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — New federal data shows fewer Americans are filing for unemployment benefits. According to the Department of Labor, approximately 218,000 claims were made last week, a decrease of 14,000 from the previous week.

In Colorado, the state Department of Labor and Employment reports that the number of unemployed people decreased by 9,000 from July to August, lowering the state's unemployment rate to 4.2%.

At MST Goods in Downtown Colorado Springs, co-owner Hannah Cox says she's been trying to fill part-time positions for about a month.

"I've gotten a decent amount of applicants," said Cox.

Cox says that, compared to last year, she's receiving more calls and emails regarding hiring her employees.

Just down the street, Kelsee Swenn is preparing to open a perfume store. While she's excited to launch her dream business, she says hiring a worker has been a challenge.

"Hiring is tough. You get floods of applications," said Swenn. "But many people aren't truly interested in interviewing for whatever reason."

Other businesses also told News5 that they are seeing the same trend, a large number of applicants, but little follow-through.

"In the Pikes Peak region, there are over 16,000 open positions," said Traci Marques, Executive Director and CEO of Pikes Peak Workforce Center.

She says those jobs range from entry-level to executive-level.

"We see people coming in. We have businesses that reached out to us and stayed really consistent for the last couple of months," said Marques.

For business owners like Cox, the drop in unemployment claims is a hopeful sign.

“It’s always good when the unemployment rate is going down,” she said. “Maybe more people are finding jobs.”

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