First, the bad news...
Xcel Energy announced another rate increase to take effect in December, raising rates 23% from last year for residential customers. (The Denver Post, November 18, 2004).
Metro Denver office space continues to have millions of square footage vacant with a vacancy rate of up to 23 percent. (The Denver Post, November 10, 2004).
Now, the good news...
Once again Dr. Richard Wobekind (CU Boulder Leeds School of Business) has released his analysis and projections for the Colorado economy. In summary, he expects that, although local job growth lagged behind the rest of the county, that 2005 will see Colorado jobs outpace the national trends.
He expects that every non-farm sector will see growth in the coming year. The job growth rate predictions range from 0.6% in construction (900 jobs) to 0.9% in government (3,200 jobs) to 4.9% in natural resources (700 jobs) to 4.8% in professional & business services (14,800 jobs). Overall, he expects an overall growth rate of about 2% which equates to approximately 43,100 jobs in 2005.
PLEASE NOTE: the complete, detailed economic report is available from the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado in Boulder. You can get their contact information at the Leeds School of Business website.
The following are the Regional Stock Gainers according to the Boulder County Business Report, Nov. 26-Dec. 9, 2004.
