Colorado’s unemployment remained unchanged in April for a third consecutive month at 6.4% as many employers continue to struggle to find workers, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment reported Friday.

The worker shortage is so acute the department Wednesday began offering bonuses of up to $1,600 to those collecting unemployment benefits if they take and keep a full-time job for at least two months. More than 200,000 Colorado residents remain out of work, down from more than 360,000 a year ago but more than double the nearly 80,000 who were unemployed before the pandemic hit the state. The state’s unemployment rate was a record 12.1% in April 2020.

The nation’s jobless rate edged up to 6.1% in April from 6% in March.

Nearly 10,000 people in the state found work last month — more than the 8,900 who returned to the job market — but that wasn’t enough to change the unemployment rate. Some employers blame the worker shortage on a reluctance by those drawing unemployment benefits to seek work, thanks to an extra $300 a week they are receiving through Sept. 6 as part of stimulus legislation passed in March.

Unemployment rates in all Colorado metro areas fell, except for Pueblo, which remained unchanged at 8.6%. The Colorado Springs jobless rate fell from 6.7% in March to 6.5% in April and the Denver area’s unemployment rate declined from 6.7% in March to 6.4% in April. Boulder had the lowest jobless rate at 5.3%, while Pueblo had the highest. Among counties, Cheyenne County had the lowest rate at 2.5%, while San Miguel County had the highest at 10%.

Those numbers, which come from a survey of households, show weaker job growth than a separate survey of businesses. That survey shows payroll jobs statewide grew by 17,000 in April to 2.67 million, with more than half of the growth coming from restaurants and hotels, reflecting relaxed COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in many counties as more residents get vaccinated. However, employment in those industries remains down nearly 60,000 jobs from levels before the pandemic hit.

The department revised job gains in March from 6,600 to 7,700. The state has regained nearly 250,000 of the more than 375,000 jobs lost between February and April 2020.