March 2006
Steady, sustained employment growth paints overall positive picture
Economic growth in Metro Denver in 2006 is expected to be similar to that experienced in 2005, according to data compiled by the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation (Metro Denver EDC) in its Monthly Economic Summary for March 2006.
“Economic performance throughout the region is slowly improving," said Tom Clark, executive vice president of the Metro Denver EDC. “We finished 2005 with a job growth rate of 1.9 percent. We anticipate that we will have stronger growth in 2006 and finish above 2 percent."
January employment data and revised 2005 data will be released by the Colorado Department of Labor in mid-March. The Metro Denver EDC will post and forward this information when it is released.
Strong December retail sales in Metro Denver pushed annual retail sales to nearly $72.9 billion in 2005, a 6.7% increase over 2004 annual sales. The strongest gains occurred throughout the year in Adams County (+16.5%), Douglas County (+13.8%), and the City & County of Denver (+8.7%).
“The strong retail sales increase of 6.7 percent is very positive," commented Clark. “This tells us consumer confidence is on the rise, which is always good news for the economy."
For the month, 11 of the 18 indicators moved in a positive direction, the same as last month. Annualized activity improved slightly with 15 economic variables posting positive changes for the year, up from 13 last month.
Some notable rankings for the month:
- Colorado ranked 12th in the 2006 State Business Tax Climate Index compiled by the Tax Foundation. The index is comprised of five sub-indexes for which Colorado’s rank is reported in parenthesis: Business Tax Index (6), Individual Income Tax Index (14), Sales and Gross Receipts Tax Index (26), Unemployment Insurance Tax (21), and Wealth and Property Tax Index (14). Wyoming has the most business-friendly tax system, while the New York system is the least-hospitable to business.
- Venture capital funding awarded to Colorado companies increased 48 percent in 2005 to $661.7 million which accounted for 2.8 percent of total funding awarded to U.S. companies. The National Association of Seed and Venture Funds also reported that the total number of Colorado deals increased from 68 in 2004 to 75 in 2005. California recipients account for the bulk of venture capital funding, registering 47.1 percent of the total $21.7 billion in funding awarded last year. Only seven states attract more than a half-billion venture capital dollars: California, Massachusetts, Texas, New Jersey, Washington, Colorado, and North Carolina.
The Monthly Economic Summary provides a snapshot of metro area economic activity, as well as its relationship to national and regional economic trends.