DENVER - Colorado's seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate hit 8 percent in April - a tenth of a percentage point higher than in March, according to the latest figures from the state labor department.

The rate is about even with the rate of 8.1 percent a year earlier. The national unemployment rate was 9.9 percent for April.

Colorado Department of Labor and Employment Executive Director Donald Mares says Colorado's rate inched upward as thousands of job seekers who stopped looking for work entered the market again.

The estimated number of residents unsuccessfully looking for work increased by 2,700 over the month of April to 212,600.

The state labor department said Friday there were about 2.46 million working Coloradans in April, down from 2.5 million a year ago. 

Source