21 Jan 2020 Economic Outlook
The following are outtakes from a recent 2020 Economic Forecast presentation by Charlie Dougherty of Wells Fargo Securities. The entire slide deck presentation can be found here. The general outlook for the country, and more specifically for Colorado, is positive. Most indicators lean towards continuing growth, low unemployment, and rising wages.
The current economic expansion we’re experiencing is in its 10th year. This makes it the longest expansion on record, even beating out the 1991-2001 expansion which lasted approximately 120 months. We’re currently in our 127th month of this economic expansion which started in 2009. However, this expansion is growing more slowly than previous expansions. Even so, it seems poised to continue growing at a slow rate.
The country as a whole has reached “near record” unemployment rates. While this is good news for workers, it does mean that finding employees can be difficult for businesses. Hiring continues to be strong across most job sectors even though finding the right employees is a little harder. 
Wages continue to rise for those employees and consumer spending is following that. However, employment costs are rising too.
In Colorado employment growth is outpacing the US average at 2.1% vs 1.4% . The jobless rate is lower too and the labor force in Colorado tends to be one of the most highly educated in the country. On an industry level in Colorado almost all are adding jobs, with the most coming from Professional and Business Services, Government, and Education and Health Services.
For business owners in Colorado or those looking to purchase a business, now is a great time for your employees! They’re seeing extra wages and feeling secure enough to spend a little more as well. For you as a business owner, it may take longer to find new employees. Plan accordingly and realize that, as employee wages and benefits grow, so too will your expenditures.
If you’re interested in purchasing a new business or are planning to sell your Colorado business, we’d love to help. Contact us today!