Colorado’s economic future looks bright for 2016. I was honored to present the 2016 Colorado Business Economic Outlook with Richard Wobbekind, the senior associate dean of Academic Programs at the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business and executive director of its Business Research Division, earlier this week.
Unemployment is at 4 percent in the state, our economy is growing—ranking us fifth for real GDP growth—and our state continues to attract people to live and work in this beautiful state. It looks like we’ll add over 70,000 jobs before the end of this year and we’ll be on pace to add over 65,000 in 2016—growing about 2.5 percent.
This is all good news and we truly hope every single Chamber member is feeling the benefit of this economic activity. But we know these benefits are not being felt in every corner of our state nor in every household—so we won’t let up on our work.
Here are a few places where we are committing to do more:
Opportunities for our youth. Twenty to 24-year-olds have low participation of working age adults (70.8 percent) and a high unemployment rate of 9.4 percent. As I shared last week, we’re working together as a region—and the Chamber is making connections—to address this issue and get more youth engaged in education and careers.
Meeting our workforce needs. We’ve not prepared our kids to meet our workforce needs. Almost three out of every four jobs will require some postsecondary education by 2020. As a matter of fact, one in three of those jobs require a two-year degree or less. These jobs are often referred to as middle skills jobs, but they are highly technical and provide excellent careers in diverse fields like technology, construction, manufacturing and health care.
Housing. We’ve experienced the second fastest growth in housing prices in the country this year. And while we’re expecting more growth in construction permitting for more housing, we continue to be challenged by the threat of litigation over condo construction—an important, attainably priced housing option. Many communities, including Arvada, Aurora, Centennial, Commerce City, Colorado Springs, Denver, Douglas County, Lakewood, Littleton, Lone Tree, Parker and Wheat Ridge, have already stepped up with common sense reforms that make construction possible and still protect a homeowner’s right to have issues in their homes fixed. But, we continue to urge statewide action to address this issue.
Supporting the entire state. We benefit from our partnerships around the state. We rely on the knowledge and expertise of our outstate partners when we are working on legislative or policy issues. We benefit economically from the tourism they attract to our state. We have taken hundreds of Front Range leaders to other parts of the state like Pueblo, Fort Collins and mountain communities to learn and work on critical issues facing us all. Most recently our Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation and the Chamber have focused on how we can help drive more economic success for other regions. There are actions that you can take to help, too. Buy products produced in these communities, consider how you might engage in business throughout the state and look for partnerships.
My mom used to say many hands make for light work. It’s true. We have 6,000 hands helping at the Chamber. Let’s keep making sure every part of our state and our community reaps the benefits of our growing economy.
Kelly Brough is president and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.