Colorado Mesa University Davis School of Business professor of economics Nathan Perry recently completed the latest quarterly updates for Delta and Montrose Counties.

Perry, who compiles the data and writes the reports, highlighted two areas in the Delta County report:

Sales taxes in Delta County were up 5.68 percent from 2023 to 2024, and the City of Delta’s sales and use taxes also saw growth, rising 5.25 percent. However, lodging taxes have remained relatively flat, falling minus-2.61 percent.

The unemployment rate estimate for Delta also increased from 5.4 percent in 2024 to 6.6 percent through April 2025. This is higher than the state average of 4.3 percent for 2024.

• In the Montrose County economic update, the main item Perry highlighted was the average unemployment rate for 2024 was 4.6 percent, while the average for the first quarter of 2025 is 5.6 percent.

He wrote, “Montrose unemployment has been trending up, matching the trend in Colorado.”

He added, “Industry data also shows healthcare has been the leading contributor to job gains over the past few quarters.”