Agricultural exports from Colorado remain well ahead of last year with increases in the sale of beef, dairy products and grain. The value of agricultural exports through the first seven months of 2011 totalled $718 million, up 20 percent over the same span last year, according to figures reported by the Colorado Department of Agriculture. […]
The latest results of a monthly report confirm property foreclosure activity is slowing in Mesa County. Nonetheless, Mesa County continues to experience the highest foreclosure rate among 12 metropolitan counties in Colorado. According to the statistics from the Colorado Division of Housing, Mesa County reported 86 foreclosure filings and 99 foreclosure sales in August. Compared […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times: The monthly unemployment rate in Mesa County has slipped back into single digits even as increasing labor demand offers encouragement conditions are improving. “We’re seeing some life in the economy. It might be little, but it’s in the right direction,” said Suzie Miller, an employment specialist with the Mesa County Workforce […]
A measure of optimism among small business owners has dropped for a sixth straight month, a decline one economist blamed on growing uncertainty about the future. The National Federation of Independent Business reported that its Small Business Optimism Index retreated 1.8 points in August to 88.1. The index is based on the results of monthly […]
A monthly index tracking conditions for small businesses in Colorado increased for the first time in five months on improving labor trends. The state economy likely would fare even better were it not for a weak national economy, said Jeff Thredgold, a corporate economist who calculates the Vectra Bank Colorado Small Business Index. “The Colorado […]
Over the five years she’s operated her Grand Junction real estate firm, Tina Harbin has never been busier. The owner and managing broker of Real Estate West attributes part of the trend to the increasing number of government-owned properties her firm lists and sells. But Harbin also credits what she describes as an “opportunity market” […]
A monthly index tracking labor trends continues to decline, but still signals slow job growth in the months ahead. The Conference Board Employment Trends Index slipped two-tenths in August to 100.8, but remains 4.1 percent higher than this time last year. “While the Employment Trends Index has been on a slightly declining trend in recent […]
Slowing job growth in the United States ground to a halt in August with no monthly gain in payrolls for the first time in nearly a year. The national unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.1 percent. According to the latest Labor Department estimates, the loss of 17,000 government jobs exactly offset a gain of 17,000 […]
A monthly index tracking business conditions in Colorado has retreated for a third straight month, but still forecasts growth with hiring in the energy and manufacturing sectors. The Business Conditions Index slipped four-tenths in August, but at 53.8 remains above the level projecting an expanding economy over the next three to six months. “Energy extraction firms […]
A monthly measure of consumer confidence has tumbled to its lowest level in more than two years as pessimism over business and labor conditions mounts. The Conference Board reported that its Consumer Confidence Index fell nearly 15 points to 44.5 in August. That’s the lowest reading since the CCI retreated to 40.8 in April 2009. […]