colorado business economic outlook

Colorado suffered the biggest drop in its homeownership rate of any state last year, according to counts from the U.S. Census Bureau. But economists and demographers in the state aren’t buying it. The homeownership rate, a measure of how many households own the place where they live versus renting it, was 69.7% during the fourth quarter of 2022. It moved up to 70.2% in the second quarter of 2023 before plunging to 62.7% in the fourth quarter. No other state came close to matching that 7 percentage point decline last year.…

Colorado, accustomed to having one of the strongest rates of job growth of any state most years, found itself in an unfamiliar position last year of having one of the weakest in the country. Colorado’s 0.8% gain in nonfarm jobs, representing a gain of 24,100 positions between December 2022 and December 2023, ranked sixth lowest among states, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Mississippi had the only decline in the U.S. at 0.7%, representing a net loss of 7,800 jobs last year. Rhode Island saw a 0.4% gain,…

The state’s private sector sat on the sidelines when it came to hiring workers as last year came to a close, according to a monthly update from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. Colorado added an anemic 300 nonfarm jobs in December, with private sector employers shedding 1,700 and governments adding 2,000. November counts, which had initially shown a decline of 700 jobs, were revised to show a loss of 2,500 jobs, all driven by the lack of private-sector hiring. For the full year, private sector employers…

Where a state ranks in terms of its population is a pretty good indicator of where it will rank in terms of the size of its economy relative to other states. For example, California has the largest population and the largest economy. Texas ranks second on each of those. For just over half of states, population and GDP rank line up precisely or are off by just one in either direction. Florida has the third largest population but the fourth largest economy. In contrast, New York now has the fourth largest population after…

Colorado business leaders aren’t ready to sing Happy Days just yet, but they are in a much better mood heading into this year than they were last, according to the latest Leeds Business Confidence Index from the University of Colorado Boulder. “Entering 2024, business confidence remains suppressed but is on the rise,” according to the report, which is published quarterly. The LCBI looks at six different categories and asks respondents what they expect over the next two quarters. An index score of 50 indicates an…

Commercial real estate represents an anchor that is likely to only grow heavier in the months ahead as apartments join office space in stressing banks and weighing on the larger economy. “Office is a four-letter word right now,” said Marcel Arsenault, CEO and founder of Louisville-based Real Capital Solutions, while moderating a panel on commercial real estate at the Colorado Business Economic Outlook Forum, hosted by University of Colorado Boulder in early December. Falling interest rates might provide some relief, but…