Colorado’s economy last year grew at its slowest pace in five years, and hit the brakes as it crossed over into 2017, according to the .
Colorado’s gross domestic product, or GDP, adjusted for inflation, rose 2 percent last year, which ranked 13th among states and outpaced the 1.5 percent increase in U.S. GDP.
It represents the slowest pace of growth for the state since 2011’s 1.4 percent gain. Colorado’s economy rose 3 percent in 2015, which , and 4.7 percent 2014, which .
Washington, Oregon, Utah, New Hampshire and Florida reported the strongest economic growth last year. North Dakota, Alaska, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Louisiana, West Virginia and New Mexico were mired in recession with declining output.
Colorado’s economic growth between the third and fourth quarters, converted into an annual rate, was 1.1 percent, which ranked 36th among stated, behind Nebraska and just ahead of Louisiana.
Health care, professional services and retail trade were the biggest contributors to economic growth in the fourth quarter in Colorado, while rental real estate, agriculture and manufacturing were the biggest drag, according to the bureau.
Momentum, however, appears to be returning. Front Range rents started rising again this year after and the number of unemployed workers has dropped sharply, , the tightest in the country. Oil and gas .
