The mountain region of Wyoming, Colorado and Utah could end 2005 with its strongest job growth in years as the economy continues to improve, an economist predicted Monday.
Nearly 51,000 jobs have been added regionwide since January, and indications from business leaders and managers are that the recovery will continue, Creighton University economics professor Ernie Goss said.
“Surveys over the past several months and government data indicate that the region is growing jobs at a pace not experienced since before the 2001 recession,” Goss said.
Goss said Colorado has added about 22,000 jobs, and he expects an additional 26,000 jobs by December, which would put job growth at 2.2 percent for the year.
If the prediction holds, it will be the strongest job growth since 2000, Goss said.The Omaha, Neb.-based university’s overall Mountain States Index set a record in July at 72.4, up from 71.0 in June. The July employment index was 71.7, up from 65.0 the previous month.The Creighton Economist Forecasting Group, directed by Goss, conducts a monthly survey of supply managers in the three states to compile the index, which ranges between 0 and 100.
