The number of new businesses opening shop in Colorado continues to grow, if looked at in the big picture, but has slowed in the short term.
A report released in late January by the University of Colorado Leeds Business School Research Division showed that 27,000 corporations, nonprofits and other entities submitted filings with the secretary of state’s office to start up in the fourth quarter of 2018.
That’s a figure 5.1 percent higher than the same period in 2017 but an 8.2 percent decrease from the previous quarter, the report said. A news release said the quarter-to-quarter change was a sharper decline than is usual for the season.
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Business renewals were up 7 percent, and dissolutions increased about 1 percent year-over-year,, the release said.
“Despite some uncertainty at the national level, the data shows Coloradans continue to open new businesses,” said Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, whose office released the report. “I am optimistic that his , along with the projected increase in employment, indicates that Colorado will have steady economic growth in 2019.”
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Other news of note in the report:
- The state’s economy grew at a 3.5 percent pace year-over-year in the second quarter, the most recent data available from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
- The number of building permits increased from the previous year — 5.1 percent for the 12 months ending in October — with single-family permits up but multifamily permits down.
- Business leaders aren’t sure what to make about their prospects in 2019. The latest Leeds Business Confidence Index is in a neutral range, the release said, its lowest point since 2011.
