Colorado is still adding new businesses, but slowing down according to a CU Boulder report Secretary of State Jena Griswold released today.
Denver skyline (Credit: CU Boulder).
The report, prepared by the Leeds Business Research Division, shows roughly 27,000 corporations, nonprofits and other entities submitted filings with the secretary of state’s office to start up in the fourth quarter.
The filings mark an 8.2 percent dip from the previous quarter, a sharper drop than usual for the season. However, that number is still 5.1 percent higher than the same period last year.
Business renewals were up 7 percent from the fourth quarter of 2017. Businesses in good standing grew more slowly, at 4.5 percent, a slight decrease in growth from the third quarter.
Dissolutions increased about 1 percent compared to the fourth quarter last year.
Together, according to Griswold, the filings point to stability in the Colorado economy.
"Despite some uncertainty at the national level, the data shows Coloradans continue to open new businesses,” said Griswold. “I am optimistic that this, along with the projected increase in employment, indicates that Colorado will have steady economic growth in 2019.”
- Colorado still adding new businesses, but pace is slowing.
- Filings point to stable business environment.
- Business leaders expecting bearish year in 2019.
Other measures of Colorado’s economy continue to outpace the nation, including wages and labor force participation.
“Data from the prior four quarters about new entity filings and existing entity renewals indicate continued growth in Colorado’s labor market in 2019,” according to Richard Wobbekind, executive director of the Leeds Business Research Division.
Business leaders, however, are taking a bearish attitude toward 2019. The latest Leeds Business Confidence Index is in a neutral range, but hit its lowest point since 2011.
The most recent data on building permits showed gains over the previous year (5.1 percent for the 12 months ending in October), with single-family permits rising but multifamily permits falling.
The Colorado economy overall grew at a pace of 3.5 percent year-over-year in the second quarter, the last data available from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
