Here’s some good news for the holiday season: If you’re looking for a job, Denver is the ninth-best place to do so among major U.S. cities. Denver’s ratio of 2.38 unemployed workers per job advertised online in November isn’t as good as Washington’s 1.11 ratio, but it’s nowhere near as desperate as Las Vegas, where the ratio bottoms out at 8.86, according to data cited by the Denver Business Journal.

That’s not to say the unemployment picture in Denver is peachy, however. In the wake of Congress’ refusal to extend long-term unemployment insurance through the holidays, Colorado state labor officials predict about 25,000 people will lose their benefits immediately, followed by about 6,000 more per week for the next few weeks, writes 9News.

Somewhat surprisingly, analysis from the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program and the London School of Economics and Political Science has found that the global recession struck Denver, which has experienced below-average growth, harder than most cities. Denver ranks 132 of the 150 metro areas studied before, throughout, and after the recession, notes The Denver Post.

Meanwhile, Governor Bill Ritter is hoping to stimulate at least one sector of the local economy with two loan programs intended to bolster green-energy businesses in the state, including one that will provide some $13 million to finance renewable-energy projects, according to the Boulder County Business Report.