Published: July 20, 2017
Leeds School of Business

New business filings exhibited strong growth year-over-year in the second quarter of 2017, raising future employment expectations, according to a CU Boulder report released today by Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams.

The report—prepared by CU Boulder’s Business Research Division at the Leeds School of Business using data from the secretary of state’s business registry—looks at a variety of metrics, including new business filings, business renewals, construction and the unemployment rate, both in Colorado and nationally.

Based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, differences in employment growth between the urban and rural parts of the state are noted. Job growth in communities outside of the metropolitan statistical areas are lagging. However, most of the state’s economic indicators showed strong growth year-over-year in the second quarter, and Colorado is expected to continue to adding jobs throughout 2017. Total new entity filings increased 5.9 percent year-over-year while decreasing 8.4 percent compared to last quarter, indicative of normal seasonal slowdown.

"New entity filing continued an upward trajectory, which is good news for our state,” said Secretary of State Wayne Williams. “There are now nearly 650,000 business entities in good standing filed with our office.”

Over the 12 months ending in the second quarter of 2017, a total of 113,949 new business filings were recorded, which bodes well for future job growth in the state. Entities in good standing reached 647,246 in the second quarter, an increase of 6.1 percent year-over-year.

“At this time, the national economy appears poised to continue the third longest expansion in U.S. history,” said Richard Wobbekind, executive director of the Business Research Division. “We see few warning signs that could derail this trajectory over the next year. Colorado's economy is still holding strong."

Overall, business leaders remain bullish on Colorado’s economy, with confidence remaining in positive territory ahead of the third and fourth quarter of this year.