National Economic News
Things continue to look up on the jobs front. Nationally, companies created almos 300,000 new jobs in the past three months, outpacing forecasts and ending a six month slump. (The Rocky Mountain News, Nov. 8, 2003) This is a net gain of 126,000 jobs (Boulder County Business Report Nov 28 - Dec 11, 2003) The Treasury Secretary, John Snow, cited growth in jobs, factory activity and home purchases as proof of the strengthening economy. (Denver Post, Nov. 12, 2003) Correspondingly, the Commerce Department reported that business inventories rose in September for the first time in six months, indicating that companies are feeling more optimistic. (Denver Post, Nov. 18, 2003)
Regional Economic News
Although improving, the Denver economy is not matching the gains made nationally. The Denver area added 1,600 new jobs in September, as the unemployment rate declined for the third month in a row. In addition, 25% of local companies planned to increase hiring in the fourth quarter, as opposed to 15 percent in the third quarter. Only 2% of companies planned layoffs, a decrease of 20% in the third quarter. (Denver Post, Nov. 6, 2003).
| Local unemployment rates | |
|---|---|
| Denver Metro Statistical Area | 5.8% |
| Boulder | 5.0% |
| Colorado Springs | 5.8% |
| Fort Collins/Loveland | 5.0% |
However, according to the Boulder County Business Report (BCBR Nov 28 - Dec 11, 2003) Colorado's unemployment rate dropped from 5.7% to 5.6%. Other regianal rates appear in the table.
Colorado now leads the nation in growth in bankruptcies. Filings through the end of September were an increase over the same period in 2002 by 24 percent. (The Rocky Mountain News, Nov. 15, 2003)
| Regional Stock Gainers | |
|---|---|
| New Frontier Media | Up 42% |
| Rogue Wave Software | Up 32% |
| Advanced Energy Industries | Up 28% |
| Sun Microsystems | Up 14% |
| Applied Films | Up 13% |
| Carrier Access Corp. | Up 12% |
| SpectraLink Corp. | Up 11% |
| Xilinx | Up 8% |
| Dean Foods | Up 8% |
| Napro Biotherapeutics | Up 7% |
Denver's home-building permits are down 18 percent as compared to a year ago, slowing in conjunction with the drop in sales. The few areas where permits are ahead of last year are Boulder, Erie, and Commerce City. (Denver Post, Nov. 14, 2003)
