National Economic Picture
On November 1, the Federal Reserve Board raised a key bench-mark short-term interest rate, in a sign of their belief that Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have only slowed the economy temporarily. This was the 12th consecutive increase. (The Denver Post, November 2, 2005).
Retailers reported stronger than expected sales for October, with major retailers such as WalMart, Costco and Nordstrom exceeding expectations. (The Denver Post, November 4, 2005).
In more good news, the U.S. government reported that productivity increased by 4.1 percent in the third quarter, which was the largest increase in a year. (The Denver Post, November 4, 2005).
The nation's payrolls grew by 56,000 in October, signaling that job market is regaining its footing after the fall hurricanes on the gulf coast. The jobless rate fell to 5 percent. Job losses in September turned out to be just 8,000, as opposed to the predicted 35,000. (The Rocky Mountain News, November 5, 2005).
Responding to a drop in oil prices and reports that the U.S. economy is growing without inflation, the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq reached four year highs in November. (The Rocky Mountain News, November 19, 2005).
The National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing homes fell 2.7 percent in October, a sign that the housing market is cooling. The number of unsold homes rose to their highest level in 19 years. (The Denver Post, November 29, 2005).
Regional Economic Picture
The first week in November, Colorado lost some jobs and then gained even more, for a net increase. Raytheon and Cenveo lost a total of 178 jobs. However, Safe Auto Insurance announced plans for a call center in Sterling that will employ at least 250 people. (The Denver Post, November 4, 2005).
Speaking at the Jefferson Economic Council breakfast, economists from the Denver area predicted job growth of around 2 percent for 2005 and for 2006. (The Rocky Mountain News, November 5, 2005).
Sales of existing homes in Denver were flat in November, which is typical for this time of the year. (The Denver Post, November 23, 2005).
The Colorado Division of Housing reported that apartment vacancies fell throughout Colorado in 2005 through September, while rents rose. The vacancy rate for apartments fell to 8.6 percent, as compared to 10.4 percent in February and 9.8 percent in September 2005. Average rents reached an all-time high of $805 in September. (The Denver Post, November 30, 2005).
