Apr. 18--Broomfield County's unemployment rate is at its highest point in the county's history, according to data released Friday.

Broomfield's rate during March was 7.2 percent, topping the previous high of 7 percent in June 2003, according to state and national employment figures. Broomfield became a county in November 2001.

"Obviously, we don't like to see the unemployment numbers jump up like that," said Don Dunshee, president and chief executive officer of the Broomfield Economic Development Corp. "It's just kind of a symptom of what's going on. It's a worldwide recession. It isn't just a U.S. or Colorado recession, it's a world recession."

The increasing unemployment in Broomfield reflects an ongoing trend felt by neighboring Boulder County, the state of Colorado and the nation as some businesses and industries continue to grapple with current economic conditions. That has area staffing agencies and employment assistance organizations struggling to meet the needs of the newly unemployed.

Broomfield is home to some of the area's largest employers, including Sun Microsystems Inc. and Level 3 Communications Inc., which have reduce their work forces in recent months citing economic challenges.

The county's March unemployment rate climbed three-tenths of a percentage point from February. The increase mirrored the 0.3 percent jump in Colorado's unemployment rate.

At 7.5 percent, Colorado has its highest unemployment rate in nearly 22 years, the state's Department of Labor and Unemployment said. The number of employed Coloradans fell 13,000 in March to 2.5 million.

Local staffing agencies and employment assistance organizations are seeing the rough market first-hand.

Last year, Bolder Staffing's two area offices helped one to two people a month with their unemployment claim. Now that's up to about five to six people per week, said Debora Guidetti, director of operations and finance for the employment agency.

"It is just really, really tough," she said, adding that Bolder Staffing is "doing everything we possibly can," to help its clients with their resumes and keep them abreast of new opportunities.

As for the types of jobs available, they're more specialized, Guidetti said, rattling off current openings such as research accountant, woodworker and wood-glazer.

From July 2008 to March 2009, about 14,800 people used Workforce Boulder County's job-seeking services --among them, workshops, the agency's job site www.connectingcolorado.com and self-directed labs -- an increase of 48 percent from the same year-ago period, said Tom Miller, director.