June 2009
Ten of 18 economic indicators move in positive direction in Metro Denver
Workforce indicators, improvements in the stock market, consumer confidence, and home sales were among several economic indicators to move in a positive direction this month, according to data compiled by the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation (Metro Denver EDC) in its Monthly Economic Summary for June 2009.
Metro Denver’s unemployment rate averaged 7.6 percent through the first four months of the year in what is almost a three percentage-point increase from the average for the same months in 2008. Still, Metro Denver’s year-to-date unemployment rate in April was considerably below the nationwide rate (8.8 percent) and only slightly higher than the statewide rate (7.5 percent).
Metro Denver’s average weekly number of unemployment claims fell from 2,711 in March to 2,448 in April, but the April count was more than 86 percent above the weekly average from April 2008.
"Despite bleak unemployment rates, companies are still expanding in the region taking advantage of the state’s highly educated, high-tech workforce," stated Tom Clark, executive vice president of the Metro Denver EDC.
The Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA), a federal lab based at Colorado State University, has been granted a five-year extension of its research partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Under the agreement, CIRA will receive as much as $64.4 million for continued research in weather- and aviation-related satellite technology.
Also, California-based DaVita Inc. will move its headquarters to Denver. The company operates dialysis clinics nationwide, and spokespeople say Colorado’s central location and low cost of living and doing business were key considerations in the decision to relocate. The company currently employs 250 workers in Lakewood. DaVita will become Colorado’s 12th Fortune 500 headquarters.
April foreclosure filings in Metro Denver rose from March as all but two of the seven counties reported increased foreclosure activity. Despite the increase, foreclosures have declined on a year-to-date basis in each Metro Denver county except Boulder County and the City and County of Broomfield. Foreclosures for the region as a whole have fallen 14.2 percent year-to-date.
Additionally, Denver is the No. one U.S. city most clearly ready for a housing rebound, according to a real estate correspondent for the NBC “Today” show. According to the correspondent, “rebound-ready” cities have high rates of job and population growth, high rates of educational attainment, and a good balance between housing supply and demand. She also noted that Denver has an improving foreclosure rate, an expansive park system, and a thriving downtown.
Several local stimulus projects are now underway as federal officials work to address imbalances in the banking system and the nation’s manufacturing sector.
A stimulus-funded project – the new research support building for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden – broke ground recently. The $64 million, 218,000-square-foot building will receive LEED Platinum certification and will be completed in 2010. Other stimulus-related investment at NREL will directly support research of advanced, energy-conserving materials. The U.S. Department of Energy recently named NREL among 46 locations nationwide that will house Energy Frontier Research Centers, or development laboratories where scientists hope to create materials with specific properties. Spokespeople for NREL say the center will receive $4 million in annual funding for five years.
Stimulus dollars in Colorado are also funding programs that provide youth internships and job training for high-demand careers, particularly in bioscience, energy, aerospace, and information technology.
The number of indicators moving positively for the month increased to 10 from eight in the prior report. As in the previous report, two indicators moved positively on an annual basis.
The Monthly Economic Summary provides a snapshot of metro area economic activity, as well as its relationship to national and regional economic trends.