News Trends Unemployment Contributorsrate retreats Opinion Business Briefs Business People Almanac The Business Times
September 30-OctOber 13, 2021
page 19
INDICATORS AT A GLANCE
n Business filings
s New business filings in Colorado, 39,252 in the second quarter, up 25.7% from the second quarter of 2020.
n Confidence
t Consumer Confidence Index 109.3 in September, down 5.9. s Leeds Business Confidence Index for Colorado, 67.3 for the third quarter, up 2.9. s National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Optimism Index 100.1 for August, up 0.4.
n Foreclosures
t Foreclosure filings in Mesa County, 6 in August, down from 4 in August 2020. t Foreclosure sales in Mesa County, 0 in August, down from 2 in August 2020.
n Indexes
s Conference Board Employment Trends Index, 110.37 for August, up 0.48. s Conference Board Leading Economic Index 117.1 for August, up 0.9%. s Institute for Supply Management Purchasing Managers Index for manufacturing, 59.9% for August, up 0.4%.
n Lodging
s Lodging tax collections in Grand Junction, $211,635 for August, up 75.9% from August 2020.
n Real estate
s Real estate transactions in Mesa County, 544 in August, up 0.37% from August 2020. s Dollar volume of real estate transactions in Mesa County, $221 million in August, up 39.9% from August 2020.
n Sales
s Sales and use tax collections in Grand Junction, $5.9 million for August, up 18.2% from August 2020. s Sales and use tax collections in Mesa County, $4.2 million for August, up 15.7% from August 2020.
n Unemployment t Mesa County — 5.7% for August, down 0.8. t Colorado — 5.9% for August, down 0.2. t United States — 5.2% for August, down 0.2.
Mesa County job orders hit record levels as labor demand increases Phil Castle
Labor demand has surged, however. The number of job orders posted at the Mesa County Workforce Center has doubled Aug. July The Mesa County labor market hasn’t compared to a year ago, Englehart said. For t Delta County 5.0 5.2 returned to pre-pandemic conditions, but a August, 1,038 orders were posted, up from t Garfield County 4.6 5.1 decreasing unemployment rate and growing 536 for the same month a year ago. Through t Mesa County 5.7 6.5 labor force constitute what Curtis Englehart the first eight months of 2021, 7,597 job t Montrose County 5.1 5.4 considers progress. orders were posted. That’s up from 3,988 t Rio Blanco County 5.2 5.3 “We’re going to get orders for the same span in 2020. there,” said Englehart, While the gains reflect in part the director of the Mesa County Workforce Center effects of the pandemic in 2020, they also surpass the 5,300 orders in Grand Junction. posted in the same span in 2019 and what was at that time a strong Moreover, one measure of labor demand economy with low unemployment, Englehart said. “The demand is has surged to record levels that not only surpass there, we just need to make sure the supply is there to fill it.” lagging supplies, but also exceed levels before He expects more supply to become available, driving down the the onset of the COVID pandemic, Englehart jobless rate and bolstering the labor force through the reminder of said. “The jobs are back. The demand is back.” the year. “We’re still seeing progress.” The seasonally unadjusted unemployment Seasonally unadjusted unemployment rates also declined Curtis Englehart rate fell eight-tenths of a point to 5.7 percent in neighboring counties in August: a half point to 4.6 percent in in August, according to the latest estimates from the Colorado Garfield County, three-tenths of a point to 5.1 percent in Montrose Department of Labor and Employment. That matches the lowest County, two-tenths of a point to 5 percent in Delta County and a level since October. At this time last year, the rate stood at 6.8 percent. tenth of a point to 5.2 percent in Rio Blanco County. For August 2021, Mesa County payrolls increased 1,359 to The statewide seasonally adjusted jobless rate fell two-tenths 72,309. The number of people counted among those unsuccessfully of a point to 5.9 percent, dropping below 6 percent for the first time looking for work decreased 568 to 4,357. The labor force, which since March 2020. includes the employed and unemployed, grew 791 to 76,666. Nonfarm payrolls increased 5,600 between July and August Compared to a year ago, payrolls have increased 1,331. The with the biggest gains in the leisure and hospitality; professional ranks of the unemployed have decreased 791. The labor force has and business services; and trade, transportation and utilities sectors. grown 540. Over the past year, payrolls have increased 117,400. Over the Englehart said the jobless rate has steadily decreased and the past 16 months, Colorado has regained 293,400 of the 375,800 jobs labor force grown, although at a slower pace than he anticipated. lost between February and April 2020 because of the pandemic and A federal stipend added to unemployment benefits was among related restrictions. the factors that’s made some people reluctant to rejoin the work The average workweek for employees on private, nonfarm force, he said. But other factors also have played roles, including payrolls remained unchanged over the past year at 34.3 hours. difficulty finding child care and anxiety over going back to work Average hourly earnings increased $1.50 to $32.19. in a pandemic. F The Business Times
AREA JOBLESS RATES
Index: U.S. consumers shaken, not stirred A measure of consumer confidence continues to decline as concerns mount over the COVID-19 pandemic as well as business and labor conditions. The Conference Board reported its Consumer Confidence Index fell 5.9 points to 109.3 in September. Components of the index tracking assessments of current conditions as well as short-term outlooks retreated. With declines in each of the last two months, the Consumer Confidence Index has dropped 19.6 points from a recent peak of 128.9 in June “These back-to-back declines suggest Lynn Franco consumers have grown more cautious and are likely to curtail spending going forward,” said Lynn Franco, senior director of economic indicators at the Conference Board. Franco said consumer confidence dropped in September as the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19 continued to dampen optimism. Consumers also worried about the economy and the prospects for short-term growth. Concerns over inflation eased, but remained elevated. While the Consumer Confidence Index remains high enough by historical standards to suggest continued growth over the short term, spending plans for autos, homes and major appliances retreated, she said. The business research and membership group bases the index on the results of monthly household surveys. Economists monitor
the index because consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of economic activity. Less upbeat assessments of current conditions pulled down the present situation component of the index 5.5 points to 143.4. The proportion of consumers responding to the survey upon which the September index was based who described business conditions as ‘good” fell nine-tenths of a point to 19.3 percent. The share of those who called conditions “bad” rose 1.3 points to 25.4 percent. The proportion of those who said jobs are “plentiful” rose three-tenths of a point to 55.9 percent. But the share of those who said jobs are “hard to get” rose 2.2 points to 13.4 percent. Less optimistic outlooks pushed down the expectations component of the index down 6.2 points to 86.6. The share of consumers who said they expect business conditions to improve over the next six months fell 1.9 points to 21.5 percent. The proportion of those expected worsening conditions rose two-tenths of a point to 17.6 percent. The share of consumers who expected more jobs to become available in coming months fell 1.6 points to 21.5 percent. The proportion of those anticipating fewer jobs increased 2.3 points to 20.3 percent. While 17.3 percent of consumers said they expected their incomes to increase — a drop of nine-tenths of a point — another 11.5 percent anticipated earning less. That’s an increase of 1.6 points. F
