The Jacksonville Jaguars may have defeated the Denver Broncos on Sunday, but there is no competition when it comes to economic muscle.
The GDP score in 2005: Denver, $118.4 billion; Jacksonville, Fla., $46.6 billion.
A new economic report on metro-area gross domestic product, released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Commerce, reveals the economic strength or weakness of the nation’s metropolitan areas.
Combine and then double the economic output of Boulder, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, Grand Junction, Greeley and Pueblo, and they still won’t reach Denver-Aurora’s GDP in 2005, which is the most recent yearly information available in the report.
Although dated, the metro GDP numbers should help local planners get a better grip on what industries they should focus on, said Patty Silverstein, an economist with Development Research Partners in Littleton.
Financial services accounted for 21 percent of Denver’s economic output, followed by manufacturing at 17 percent.
“Denver is one of the largest financial-services hubs in the Western United States,” Silverstein said.
Manufacturing is interesting because it has boosted output despite shedding jobs, Silverstein said. GDP is a measure of the value of the goods and services an economy produces. More output traditionally translates into more jobs and a higher standard of living.
Until recently, the federal government had limited GDP disclosures to quarterly reports on the U.S. economy and annual reports for states.
“It will help people understand the local economy a little bit better,” said Gary Horvath, managing director of the business-research division at the University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business in Boulder.
One of the difficulties for economists is that even within a single state, multiple economies exist side-by-side, growing at different paces.
Pueblo’s economy contracted 1.8 percent between 2004 and 2005 on a sharp decline in manufacturing activity, while Grand Junction’s grew by 5.9 percent on the heels of strong oil and gas activity.
Metro Denver’s economy grew at 3.9 percent in 2005, exceeding the 3 percent growth rate in the U.S. Between 2001 and 2003, metro Denver saw almost no growth.
Horvath said he was surprised that Boulder’s GDP of $14.9 billion wasn’t larger and even more surprised that its GDP was almost as large as Colorado Springs’ $19.2 billion.
In terms of what moved GDP growth forward in metro Denver, natural resources and professional and business services are two areas that can take credit. Accountants, lawyers and scientists are among the jobs included in the latter category.
In Colorado Springs, it was growth in government and military spending, along with stronger output from the information sector, which includes technology and telecom.
Up in Fort Collins, manufacturing drove growth, while it subtracted from growth in Pueblo.
In Colorado, the report looked only at the seven largest metro areas.
Staff writer Aldo Svaldi can be reached at 303-954-1410 or asvaldi@denverpost.com.
