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Home prices increased significantly during the pandemic, and markets in the Mountain West saw some of the country's biggest hikes. But now, some cities in the region might see those prices come back to earth.

National unemployment rates continue to go down, but county job numbers in the Mountain West are extremely mixed. For example, Idaho was the only state where every county had an increase in jobs between July 2019 and July 2022. And Nevada was one of very few where every county reported job losses.

Paul Martin, an administrator for the Wyoming Department of Corrections, said it’s challenging for prisons to compete with other jobs that pay more.

A federal student loan forgiveness plan could erase up to $20,000 of debt for many borrowers. Jason Gonzales from Chalkbeat Colorado explains how this will impact Coloradans.

The COVID-19 Eviction Defense Project started as a way to help people facing eviction in the wake of the pandemic. It hopes to expand into helping those facing foreclosure or other consumer debt collection scenarios.

JetBlue is asking Spirit Airlines to reject a proposed $2.9 billion acquisition by Denver-based Frontier Airlines.

Prices in the Mountain West are soaring. The Labor Department reported this week a year-to-year inflation rate of 8.5%, the highest rise in consumer prices since 1981. Broken down by region, the Mountain West stands out with a 10.4% spike.

The New Mexico legislature this week approved sending economic relief to about 1.4 million residents to counter rising costs in the state. That mirrors other efforts across the Mountain West – the region seeing the highest rates of inflation in the country.

Inflation is the highest the nation’s seen since the 1980s. It’s worst in the Mountain West. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, consumer prices increased 8.6% in our region, the highest nationally.

A new Brookings Institution analysis helps fill the data gap, finding that nearly 40% of Native Americans saw cuts in work hours or pay over the last year – higher than all other racial or ethnic groups.