Jobs picture in Metro Denver enhanced with recent company expansions

The Metro Denver employment picture is showing modest improvement and unemployment for May has declined 0.5 percent compared to the same period last year, according to data compiled by the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation (Metro Denver EDC) in its Monthly Economic Summary for June 2011.

Several Metro Denver companies announced job growth or expansion projects in May. Spokespeople for Chase Bank, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and New York Life, for example, all announced hiring in Metro Denver or Colorado. Because the financial services sector was one of the hardest hit during the downturn, signs of recovery in financial services employment are particularly encouraging. In fact, a report recently released by staffing company Accounting Principals suggests Metro Denver ranks as the second-best city for job prospects in the financial services sector.

“We are also seeing hiring in other industry sectors, and are cautiously optimistic,” notes Patty Silverstein, president of Development Research Partners and chief economist for the Metro Denver EDC. “This is a combination of existing companies returning to normal hiring practices, as well as company expansions in the Metro Denver region.”

Other Metro Denver companies – including SolarCity, SMA America LLC, and Polystrand Inc. – recently announced leases of or plans for new facilities. These investments boost the region’s commercial real estate market and, potentially, the labor market as expanding businesses often hire more workers and support job growth for their suppliers. This upswing in hiring may not happen immediately, but it will provide momentum for Metro Denver’s labor market over the long term. For now, labor market data suggest the region’s employers are hiring the way they typically would at this time of year. Recently, weak job data at the national level is a troubling sign, although unsteady progress should be expected in jobs, housing, spending, and other economic engines as the recovery continues.

Economic indicators for Metro Denver reflect this unsteady progress. Seven indicators moved in a positive monthly direction in this report, while 12 moved positively in the previous report. Fifteen indicators moved in a positive annual direction both in this report and the prior report.

The Monthly Economic Summary provides a snapshot of metro area economic activity, as well as its relationship to national and regional economic trends.