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The University of Colorado at Denver Manufacturing Index climbed to 58.1 in February, from 39 in January.  A figure above 50 indicates an expanding manufacturing sector.  The Non-Manufacturing Index remained at 49.2, the same as in January, indicating contraction in the service portion of the Front Range economy.

The Colorado Business Conditions Index, prepared at Creighton University, plunged almost 30 points in February to 59.1.  The three-state Mountain Region Index also slumped to 59.1 from 86.9 in January.  The Vectra Bank Small Business Index rose to 92.9 in February as the unemployment rate climbed 0.2 percentage points.  The January index was revised down significantly. 

Colorado is the nation’s seventh most business friendly state, according to the American Legislative Exchange Council.  Low taxes on income, business and property, legislation restricting spending and the absence of estate taxes were pluses, while the high sales tax rate and new minimum wage requirements were negatives.  The index was prepared by conservative economist Arthur Laffer.

Bankruptcy filings climbed 44.6% to 2,493 in the first two months of 2008 and were 249.2% above the same period in 2006, soon after a new bankruptcy law took effect.  Bankruptcies were well below their level in 2004 and 2005.

Traffic accidents cost U.S. motors $164.2 billion in 2007.  For Denver the cost was estimated at $776 per person, below the U.S. average of $1,051.

Only six states are on track to fully fund their non-pension costs over the next 30 years, according to a Pew Charitable Trust study.  Colorado had only 75% of its overall pension requirements funded at the end of 2006, down from 105% at the end of 2000.  While 85% of the nation’s 30-year pension needs have been set aside, only 3% of the $381 billion needed for non-pension benefits are in place.

Six of the nation’s fastest growing states are in the Mountain West, according to the Census Bureau.

Per Capita State Gross Domestic Product - 2006

Domestic migration between states slowed last year by 27%, but migration to Colorado increased 5% to 33,438.

Retail sales in Colorado rose 8.4% through September to $104.8 billion.  All Front Range cities except Fort Collins posted even stronger growth and Grand Junction sales were up 12.4%.  Preliminary data from the Colorado Department of Revenue report strong retail sales during the November/December holiday season, with sales for the year increasing 9.7% to $147.3 billion.

Employment: 

Revised employment data from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment report job growth of 2.2% in 2007, relative to 2.0% reported earlier.  Jobs also expanded by 2.2% for the month of January.  The unemployment rate averaged 3.8% in 2007 and was 4.2% in January 2008.  Grand Junction has the most rapid job growth last year, 5.7%, and the lowest unemployment rate, 3.2%.  Colorado Springs had the slowest job growth, 1.0%, and Pueblo had the highest unemployment rate, 4.8%.  In January, most cities in Colorado posted faster job growth and higher unemployment rates.

The Manpower Inc. Employment Plans Survey found that 26% of U.S. companies plan to increase their workforce in the April-June quarter, while 9% plan a decrease and 5% are undecided.  In Colorado, 23% plan to hire and 9% anticipate reductions.  In Denver and Colorado Springs, 30% and 23% respectively expect to add staff, while 7% and 3% anticipate layoffs.

Job Changes 2008

AVA Solar is opening a manufacturing plant in Longmont, in addition to its facilities in Fort Collins.  The company, which opened in 2007, expects to have over 150 employees in Fort Collins by the end of this year and up to 500 in the region by the end of 2009.

Tourism: 

The average hotel occupancy rate for the month of January was 55.3%, according to the Rocky Mountain Lodging Report, down from 56.8% a year ago.  The average daily rate rose 7.9% to $145.75.  The resort areas had the highest occupancy rate, 67.8%, and the highest room rates, $296.19.

Total enplaned passengers at the Colorado Springs Airport rose 8.3% in January, on top of a 1.6% increase for all of 2007.  Passenger traffic in Colorado Springs peaked in 1996 at 2.4 million passengers and then declined steadily for ten years after Western Pacific moved its operations to Denver.  In 2007, there were slight over one million passengers, 42.8% of the 1996 total.

Revenues at Colorado casinos fell 3.6% in January relative to a year earlier and were 2.7% below the previous months.  It was the first month that the smoking ban was in effect.  The state’s 41 casinos had $56.7 million in adjusted gross proceeds and paid $9.3 million in gaming taxes.

Housing: 

Housing permits in Colorado fell 2.9% in January, after declining 20.7% in 2007 and 16.4% in 2006.  Single-family permits were down 39.9% in January, 30.6% in 2007 and 24.4% in 2006.

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that foreclosures soared to an all-time record in the fourth quarter, with 0.83% of all homes going into foreclosure.  In Colorado, the figure was 0.8%.  The delinquency rate (payments at least 30-days past due) increased to 5.82%, the highest in 22 years.  Subprime mortgages were particularly troubled.

In January, RealtyTrac reported that Colorado foreclosures increased 9.12%, ranking it fifth behind Nevada, California, Florida and Arizona.  In 2007, 2.6% of Denver-Aurora homes and 1.6% of Colorado Springs homes were in some stage of foreclosure.

Looking at foreclosures another way, the Associated Press reported that 4.7% of existing home sales in the third quarter of 2007 were foreclosure sales, up from 3.3% in 2006.  Colorado ranked second at 15.6%, up from 10% in 2006, behind only Nevada with 17.5%.  In Colorado Springs, 24% of the homes that sold in January were in some stage of foreclosure.  The figure was 15.3% for all of 2007 and 9.5% in 2006.

Subprime lending was especially prevalent in metro Denver in 2004 and 2005, according to a Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank report.  By 2006 and 2007, it dropped below the national average.  Eleven percent of local subprime borrowers have lost their homes to foreclosure and another 15% are either more than 90 days past due on their mortgage or in the foreclosure process.  Sixty-one percent are current on their loans, close to the national average of 62%.

Colorado Springs reported that permits for homes valued at more than $500,000 fell 26.7% in 2007 and were 15.1% below their 2006 level.

Nonresidential:

Construction spending nationally fell by its largest amount in 14 years in January, with declines in both the residential and nonresidential sectors.  In Colorado, the value of all construction contracts plunged 33% to $1.2 billion.  Nonresidential contracts were down 36.5%, residential contracts fell 43% and nonbuilding (roads, dams, power plants, etc.) contracts increased 27% through February