A second-quarter business report released Wednesday by Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler projects sustained employment growth in the near-term based on increased business filings.
The latest Quarterly Business and Economic Indicators Report showed new business filings increased by six percent compared to the same period last year.
Gessler said in the report that Colorado small business owners and entrepreneurs appear to be reappearing and registering new businesses.
“As more of these business leaders hang out their shingles, past trends indicate more jobs for Colorado,” said Gessler.
Richard Wobbekind, Leeds School of Business economist, said in a release that both Colorado and national economic metrics “are pointing to a sustained recovery, and the business filings data suggest further employment recovery in the months ahead.”
The quarterly report is based on an analysis that found a strong correlation between new entity filings and total nonfarm employment.
With 21,470 new business filings in the second quarter, new entity filings increased 6 percent compared to the previous year.
Existing entity renewals are also up compared to the prior year, the report said.
The second quarter finished with 513,063 total entities in good standing in the business registry, an increase of nearly 10 percent over the previous year.
The report noted that households are more stable this year. The second quarter exhibited year-over-year growth in employment, personal income, and wealth along with “hawkish building activity and valuations in the housing market.”
Building permits increased 52.6 percent year-over-year in a 12-month trailing total, and indices point to rising appreciation of homes in select Colorado submarkets.
Also, Colorado total nonfarm employment grew 2.7 percent or by 62,400 jobs, year-over-year in June.
The report warned, however, that there are a number of “lingering risks.”
Drought and commodity prices pose local risks to the economy, the report said.
“With Washington still in gridlock over budget reform, sequestration stands to have continued provisional impacts on GDP and employment as the number of federal jobs falls in the state,” said the report. “While the languid European economy continues to threaten exports from the state after almost three years of consistent downturn, economic morale peaked in a 15-month high in July.”
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939, hpankratz@denverpost.com or
