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format version of this newsletter. Immunization rates in Colorado soared in 2005, to 83.4% of three-year-olds. This ranked Colorado 16th nationally, up from 50th in 2002 and 2003 and 44th in 2005. The state has devoted substantial additional funding to restore programs for needy children and for a marketing campaign to encourage parents to vaccinate their children. High school graduation rates in Colorado fell 3.5 percentage points to 80.1%in 2004-05, according to the Colorado Department of Education. The dropout rate increased 0.4 percentage points to 4.2%. Colorado had 5,681 residents granted citizenship in 2005, less that 1% of the U.S. total. Applications rose 53% in Colorado and Wyoming (data are not broken down by state) in August, setting a record for a single month. Colorado banks carried commercial real estate loans equivalent to 266% of their capital in the second quarter of 2006, up from 255% in the first quarter. Residential real estate was 132% of capital. Past-due and charge off rates were low, according to the FDIC. Seven Colorado counties rank among the ten with the longest life expectancy in the U.S., 81.3 years. Residents of Clear Creek, Eagle, Gilpin, Grand, Jackson, Park and Summit counties live the longest, according to research at Harvard University. Eight other Colorado counties scored among the top 50.
Employment: Job growth in Colorado remained at 2.2% through August, while the unemployment rate inched up to 4.8%. The biggest job gains were in the counties impacted by the energy industry, up 3.9% in Mesa County (Grand Junction) and 3.8% in Weld County (Greeley). Hiring plans were strong, with 34% of state employers in the Manpower, Inc. survey saying they would add to their workforce in the fourth quarter and only 8% planning job cuts. Colorado Springs had the largest percentage planning workforce reductions, 20%. Job Changes 2006
Defense spending is having a mixed, albeit positive impact on employment growth in Colorado Springs. DFE International, a defense consultant, will open an office there staffed with six professionals. Lockheed Martin could add as many as 200 employees after winning a $590 million contract to integrate Air Force weapons systems. At the same time, 140 airmen are relocating from Fort Carson to California and rumors of a larger pullout continue. About 5,000 soldiers due to relocate from Fort Hood in 2008 may not arrive until 2009 because of deployment to Iraq. Another 2,800 will remain at Fort Hood for the foreseeable future. Growth in existing units is expected to bring deployment to 25,000 eventually, but more slowly than originally anticipated, according to a story in the Colorado Springs Gazette. The defense industry employs almost 29,000 active duty military and 15,000 civilian and contract employees at four military bases in El Paso County, along with 4,200 cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy. In addition, 13% of the county’s population is retired military, the highest proportion of any large-population county in Colorado. Immigration restrictions passed by the Colorado Legislature in a special summer session are keeping agricultural workers away, according to farmers. Organic farms, which rely on labor rather than pesticides and chemicals, are unable to find workers to harvest their crops. The Colorado Farm Bureau estimates the state will lose $60 million a year because of the new laws.
Cost of Living : In the second quarter of 2006, the cost-of-living in Colorado Springs was 93.2 % of the national average. In Denver, it was 104.7%, with housing costs 110.4% of the national average.
Income and Retail Sales : Retail sales continued to surge in Colorado, up 10.3% through June. Grand Junction, the regional retail center for energy activity on the Western Slope, saw sales increase 22.3%. Motor vehicle sales increased 5.3% in the second quarter in Colorado, while sales nationally fell 5.2%. Colorado wages will rise 3.6% in 2007, up from a 3.5% increase in 2006, according to the Mountain States Employers Council. The biggest gains will be on the Western Slope, up 4.1%, with the natural resource and construction markets putting upward pressure on wages. Colorado must find jobs, jobs training or community activities for 1,585 households by the end of 2007 to comply with new welfare rules. This is a 63% increase in the work participation rate for people on welfare. The saving rate in the U.S. is the lowest of any industrialized nation, at –0.5%. This compares with 11.5% in France, 10.6% in Germany and 6.7% in Japan. An A.G. Edwards survey reports that Edwards, Colorado, has the nation’s tenth highest saving rate, while Boulder ranks 23rd. Denver ranked 47th and Colorado Springs ranked 171st out of 500 cities. Colorado had the tenth highest saving rate among the 50 states.
Tourism: Colorado Springs had its worst summer for airport passenger traffic in a decade. Summer traffic has fallen in five of the last six years. Through September, traffic was down 0.3%. Meanwhile, Denver International Airport had a record July, up 6.9% for the month and 10.4% year-to-date. The statewide hotel occupancy rate averaged 72.0% in August, up slightly from a year ago. Year-to-date, occupancy is averaging two percentage points above 2005. The highest occupancy rates were in Durango, Grand Junction, Glenwood Springs and Estes Park, all above 80%.
Housing: Colorado once again ranked first in the nation in foreclosures in August and Home sales in metro Denver rose in August relative to July, but were down relative to a year ago and also for the first seven months of the year. According to the Denver Post, mountain and fringe suburban developments with long commutes, entry-level condos and houses in need of renovation are struggling. The value of home sales in the resort counties remains strong, although it is the result of fewer but more expensive homes selling. In Colorado Springs, home sales fell 12.8%, the largest drop in four years, while inventories hit an 18-year record, up 35.2%. Through August, home sales were down 3.3%.
Nonresidential: The value of nonresidential construction contracts in Colorado rose 25.2% through August. Retail, office and health care contracts fell, but there were strong gains in garages, hotels and motels, education, public buildings and amusement. Two-thirds of the gains were in El Paso Count. Metro Denver contracts fell 5%. The value of non-building contracts more than doubled and multifamily construction was strong.
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