Brian Lewandowski - Associate Director, BUSINESS RESEARCH DIVISION
Each quarter the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office teams up with the Business Research Division at the Leeds School of Business at CU Boulder.
This is a great example of collaboration between state government and higher education in order to better inform Colorado's business leaders.
While at first glance this report seems to be a negative indication of the state of the state's economic growth, it should be taken within context. The state's growth fundamentals remain solid.
The fact that these indicators are only now declining to normal levels reminds us of Colorado's frequently higher-than-normal performance relative to other states, especially during the country's overall economic slowdown. It shows exceptional resiliency and a dynamic entrepreneurial environment. In an interesting aside, studies have shown that some of the strongest companies (as measured by the Fortune 1000 index) were started during times of recession. So perhaps these number indicate that many the state's best entrepreneurs, employees, and investors are already busy building the strong companies of the future.
Of course that's not to say we can't also ask if there is anything more we can do to encourage new business formation.
Key Points:
• New business filings slipped in Q3 and the pace of employment growth slowed.
• Employment projected to continue expanding in Q4 2015 and Q1 2016 despite the fall in new business filings.
• Current Colorado economic indicators continue to show strong growth.
• Pace of national job growth has slowed, while GDP rebounded.
New business filings recorded by the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office slipped in Q3 2015. This coincides with slowing Colorado employment growth recorded for the last 7 months, effectively leaving Colorado to resemble the nation in terms of year-over-year employment growth—a place Colorado hasn’t been in a while. Despite the lower filings activity, Colorado is expected to continue to add jobs in Q4 2015 and Q1 2016.