Christmas comes early in the latest version of an annual forecast characterizing the business and economic outlook for Mesa County in 2019 as not just positive, but “extremely positive.”

That’s the verbatim summary of a section on Mesa County in the 2019 Colorado Business Economic Outlook compiled by the research division of the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Steve Jozefcyzk, deputy director of the Grand Junction Economic Partnership, and Mara Hardy, business development manager at GJEP, were among the more than 100 business, industry and government officials who helped produce the report. Jozefcyzk and Hardy contributed the section about Mesa County and cited a combination of factors in their upbeat assessment: a low unemployment rate, growing diversification of industries, strong real estate market and unique development opportunities.

Richard Wobbekind, executive director of the research division at the Leeds School of Business, once again offered an overview of the report in his presentation at an annual event hosted by the Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce. As usual, Wobbekind was as entertaining as he was informative in the way enthusiastic economists tend to be.

His take on the outlook for Mesa County? “The news is actually really good.”

The growth that’s made Colorado one of the top states in a number of the statistical categories economists follow is expected to slow a bit in 2019. But the news remains good overall, Wobbekind said, because job growth is expected in each of 11 industry sectors. More important for those in Grand Junction, growth in Colorado has finally spread beyond the Denver metro area and Front Range to most areas of the state.

After a double downturn in regional natural gas production and the overall economy in Mesa County, economic output, nonfarm payrolls, wages, income and bank deposits all have rebounded, Wobbekind said.

While the unemployment rate in Mesa County remains slightly higher than this time last year, the latest rate is lower than January. In May, the jobless rate dropped to its lowest level since 2007. The overall labor force has yet to top its pre-recession peak. But total wages have eclipsed that level, giving consumers more spending power, he said.

Year-to-date real estate activity in 2018 already has exceeded year-end numbers for 2017, while new home construction continues to increase.

There are still other reasons for the optimistic outlook, including what Wobbekind described as a competitive advantage for Mesa County in its comparatively lower housing prices and ready access to outdoor recreation, health care and an airport.

Jozefcyzk and Hardy cited the various incentives available to relocate or start businesses in Mesa County — including those offered through the Rural Jump Start Program and in federal opportunity zones. That’s not to mention the development opportunities in business parks in the Grand Valley.

Of course, economic forecasts offer no guarantees what’s expected will become reality. But a positive outlook  — make that extremely positive — helps in fulfilling prophecy. Here’s hoping what Irving Berlin wrote in his lyrics about Christmas come true: May your days be merry and bright.