Richard Wobbekind

As 2011 kicks into gear, what's here to great us? A state unemployment rate that just inched up a notch to a record-matching 8.8 percent in November. A year ago we worried when it was 7.5 percent.

For a city that's long touted its place as an entrepreneurial haven for high tech, the numbers now show employment in advanced tech sectors is actually declining.

DENVER — University of Colorado economists expect the state to add jobs in the second half of next year, but they still predict the state will l...