March 2005
Bond construction resulting from 2004 election strengthens outlook
Metro Denver's employment picture continues to improve with 2,600 new positions added in March. In Colorado, the average annual employment was 13,800 positions higher in 2004 than 2003 with a 0.6% increase. About 25 percent of Metro Denver employers say they expect to hire staff in the coming quarter and only two percent plan to reduce payrolls.
According to data compiled by the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation (Metro Denver EDC) in its Monthly Economic Summary for March 2005, economic conditions in Metro Denver continue to improve on an annualized basis, with 12 of the 18 economic indicators moving in a positive annual direction this month.
“Job growth is still on the positive side, but slower than we would like,” said Tom Clark, executive vice president of the Metro Denver EDC. “2005 appears to be headed for a strong year in institutional construction, especially in the areas of education and health care, buoyed by successful bond issues in the November election.”
Colorado exports are looking very favorable with an increase of nine percent in 2004, which reached a record high of $6.67 billion. About $3.9 billion of total exports sales were computer products and electronics. Colorado’s top three export markets are Canada, Mexico and Japan.
Denver International Airport (DEN) celebrated its tenth anniversary with some notable accomplishments. Traffic was up 13%, reaching a record high of 42.4 million annual passengers. DEN also ranked first among major airports for on-time arrivals in 2004, with 83% of flights arriving on-time.
The Monthly Economic Summary provides a snapshot of metro area economic activity and its relation to regional and national economic trends.