While experts say the recession has been over for more than a year, a CNN/Opinion Research poll shows about three-quarters of Americans disagree with the assessment (via UPI). That's probably due to a lack of jobs. In Colorado, even those who kept jobs or found new ones weren’t always entering the best market for wages. A Denver Post investigation finds that the jobs created during the 2008-2009 period, when more than 105,000 jobs were lost, paid substantially below the state average.

As the state’s chief labor economist, Alexandra Hall, says, "It is still a buyer's market" for employers.

Of the 12 industries that added the most jobs during the two-year period, eight paid below the average annual wage of $46,813. In one example, telemarketing centers produced the most net new jobs in the state, paying an average wage of about $28,609 annually. In another, elder-care agencies produced a net gain of jobs but only at about $18,000 each year.

More people seem to be going into business for themselves, writes the Fort Collins Coloradoan, pointing out that the number of new-business licenses in that city is rebounding after last year’s multi-year low.