By Gail Binkly

Montezuma County had the seventh-highest unemployment rate in the state — 5.2 percent — in December, while neighboring Dolores County had the state’s highest rate at 9 percent, according to a recent state unemployment report.

Such locally high unemployment rates probably don’t accurately reflect the true work situation, according to Maxine Maestas, director of the Southwest Work Force Center in Cortez.

"That isn’t a true figure, because there are some people unemployed that don’t get unemployment (compensation), because of the circumstances of their quitting," she said.

Also, she said, there are many workers in Southwest Colorado who are "under-employed," working part-time because they can’t find full-time jobs.

"I see a lot of people holding down two jobs," Maestas said. "There are women, single mothers, who work their butts off to have their little cars and keep their kids looking clean and well-clothed."

The statewide unemployment rate in December was 3 percent, up from 2.8 percent in November. La Plata County’s unemployment rate was 3.1 percent.

Maestas said she has no definite answer for why Montezuma and Dolores counties historically have fewer jobs to offer than other areas, but said she thinks the lack of major transportation such as a rail system is a big factor in keeping out major industries.

"It’s expensive to get in and out of here," she said.

Unemployment rates are generally higher in the winter than in summer, Maestas said, particularly in Dolores County, where the economy is largely agriculture-based.

"In the winter, a lot of stuff shuts down there," she said. "People get laid off; they have to pay taxes; they don’t go out to eat a lot."

Locally, the unemployment rate will probably rise for another month or two during the winter and will then drop, she said. The recent closure of several stores in Cortez, including Generic Jeans and Kmart, won’t be reflected in the employment statistics for another couple of months, Maestas said.

But the unemployment rate in Montezuma County generally runs around 5 percent year-round, Maestas said, adding that the economic boom being enjoyed by the rest of the state and nation doesn’t pull the rate below that.

"The boom never gets us," she said. "We just don’t have any transportation."