First the bad: The unemployment rate is 6.6 percent, which is up from 4.3 percent one year ago. In sheer numbers, that’s 64,100 non-farm jobs, according to the Denver Business Journal. Now the good news: Donald Mares, the state labor department’s executive director, says “Colorado’s jobless rate continues to be considerably lower than that of the nation.”

Yes, according to The Associated Press, the nation’s unemployment rate is 8.1 percent, and with Michigan leading the way with 11.6 percent, fears abound that things could get worse before they get better.

But go ask the 48 press and mailroom workers at the Fort Collins Coloradoan who were laid off, and they’ll tell you things already suck. They lost their jobs recently, as Gannett Co. Inc. outsourced their work to the Denver Newspaper Agency, which will now print the Coloradoan and USA Today, according to the Northern Colorado Business Report .

Add to the ranks of the 11 unemployed sheriff’s deputies cut by Mayor John Hickenlooper’s administration, which is contending with budget woes, writes The Denver Post. In Colorado Springs regional unemployment is at its highest since 1992, reports the Gazette. Vail Resorts, meanwhile, is cutting wages to salvage jobs, according to Forbes.

At least someone is doing something about it. The Denver Egotist is helping the city “suck less” by actively aiding its unemployed ad, design, marketing, and public relations brethren.