Season pass and lift ticket sales increased at Powderhorn Mountain Resort during the inaugural ski season under new ownership. Timely storms that dumped more snow at Powderhorn than many other Colorado ski areas helped. “We were fortunate in a number of ways this season,” said Daren Cole, general manager at the resort, located on the […]
Sales tax collections in Mesa County continue to outpace last year, resulting in a double-digit increase in year-over-year comparisons for the first quarter. The trend bodes well not only for county coffers, but also the local economy. Sales tax collections offer a direct indicator of retail sales activity. The county collected a total of more […]
After six straight months of gains, a measure of optimism among small business owners has declined on less upbeat expectations for hiring and sales. The National Federation of Independent Business reported that its Small Business Optimism Index retreated nearly two points to 92.5 in March. With gains in each of the previous six months, the […]
U.S. payrolls continued to increase in March – but at half the pace of the previous three months – even as the unemployment rate edged down. According to the latest Labor Department estimates, nonfarm payrolls rose 120,000. The jobless rate slipped a tenth of a point to 8.2 percent, the lowest rate since January 2009, […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times Annette Miller sees signs of both encouragement and concern in the latest real estate statistics for Mesa County. The number and dollar volume of real estates transactions continue to outpace last year. But property foreclosure filings have increased on a year-over-year basis for two straight months, jumping nearly 90 percent in […]
Colorado residents will work an extra week this year to earn enough money to pay their taxes, according to the latest results of an annual analysis of tax and income statistics. Nationwide, taxpayers will work four more days than last year to reach what the Tax Foundation calls Tax Freedom Day. Tax Freedom Day arrives […]
A monthly index tracking business conditions in Colorado has increased even as manufacturers add jobs. “Manufacturers tied to energy, agriculture and dependent on sales abroad are experiencing especially strong growth. As a result of this solid expansion, I expect the unemployment rate to continue to decline in the months ahead,” said Ernie Goss, director of […]