Colorado economy? (Denver, Colorado Springs, Aurora: 2014, credit, home equity)

[Mike from back east]

Though opening a restaurant is a chancy proposition and many do fail, 30 eateries opened in Denver in October 2011.

[Josseppie]

^

More restaurants are opening up in Pueblo too. I'm not sure if that means anything but its nice to have more options when I dine out.

[Josseppie]

I forgot about this but its good news for the economy in Pueblo. Maybe this is what was meant by Pueblo having "some of the strongest hiring conditions". I hope it continues into 2012.

This is from the Pueblo Chieftain:

RMS plans to hire an additional 250 workers for its Pueblo call center over the next six months, the company said Monday.

The link: RMS to add 250 - The Pueblo Chieftain: Local

[ragerunner1]

Some postive news on the employment front.

Colorado unemployment drops to 8.1%; jobs up 8,800

"Colorado’s unemployment rate dropped again in October, to 8.1 percent, the lowest rate in more than 2-1/2 years, as the state added 8,800 nonfarm payroll jobs, the highest monthly gain since early 2007, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment reported Tuesday."

"According to a survey of employers, Colorado gained 8,800 non-farm payroll jobs in October, the highest monthly gain since March 2007, with private business adding 7,900 workers and government adding 900. The state had 2,254,700 payroll jobs in October."
Colorado unemployment drops to 8.1%; jobs up 8,800 - Denver Business Journal

[wong21fr]

Some guarded good news, but it's bothersome how Greeley and Pueblo, more so Pueblo, are remaining stubbornly high. Grand Junction is obviously riding the oil and gas play, but Greeley should be getting a lot more of it the Niobrara Basin play.

[CosmicWizard]

Coming to a Colorado ranch near you

Western state livestock agencies have put the value of cattle deemed lost, stolen, strayed or in questionable ownership in recent years in the tens of millions of dollars.

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by CosmicWizard

Coming to a Colorado ranch near you

Western state livestock agencies have put the value of cattle deemed lost, stolen, strayed or in questionable ownership in recent years in the tens of millions of dollars.

Unfortunately, this is not a new occurrence. Cattle rustling is as common or more common now than it was during the days of the open range. Cattlemen also are having to contend with their cattle being stampeded, poisoned, or killed outright on National Forests or BLM lands, even though those cattle are there legally under grazing allotments or leases--the "perps" being those who oppose livestock grazing on the public lands. The ranchers must also contend with their livestock being injured or killed by domestic dogs allowed to roam by their ignorant and ever-more plentiful non-ranching neighbors. It is but another reason that many long-time residents of the rural Rocky Mountain West get pretty surly about newcomers and tourists--that happens when the idiots or malcontents among them start destroying ranchers' livelihoods with their antics.

Some ranchers I know have had their fill of such problems. For example, in the case of roaming dogs, those ranchers simply shoot them. Period. Quite honestly, it may not be long before some of the human perpetrators get the same treatment--out in the rural areas, people's patience with getting their livelihoods and property messed with is running pretty thin.

[jazzlover]

Anyone who thinks Colorado's real estate debacle is anywhere near over should read this little chestnut from the Colorado Division of Housing. Hardly a pleasant statistic. It just shows how far the real estate bubble got out of control in Colorado. It pretty much supports my long-standing opinion that real estate prices in Colorado got way out phase with local incomes--and remain so.

Colorado Division of Housing: Corelogic: 20 percent of Colorado homes underwater

[Mike from back east]

So? The same report says it is WORSE on a national basis: "Nationwide, 22 percent of loans were underwater during the third quarter and an additional 5 percent were nearly so." We're no different/better/worse than all the others.

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

So? The same report says it is WORSE on a national basis: "Nationwide, 22 percent of loans were underwater during the third quarter and an additional 5 percent were nearly so." We're no different/better/worse than all the others.

Once again, you don't look beyond the headline. 22% of the mortgages in the US are underwater because several of the MOST populous states in the Union are in the worst shape--Florida and California being two. If you compare Colorado's percentages with states with similar populations to Colorado, well, Colorado looks pretty damned bad--as it should--the bubble got out of control here. I'd bet if some statistic said that 20% of Coloradans were meth-heads, you'd say that's fine if 22% of everybody in the US was a meth-head. After all, we're just like the rest of the country, right? It's always nice to find people that put the "K" back in "kwality."