Four years ago, Coloradans were prepping for the Super Bowl and the addition of 61,000 jobs. Today the state has set their sights much lower. Bronco fans are hoping that Drew Lock is the real thing and we expect to add 50,000 jobs this year.

In 2020, U.S. real GDP growth will be 2.0%, about 1.5 million jobs will be added, inflation will continue to be near the Fed’s target rate, housing price appreciation will continue to slow, auto and retail sales will be slightly lower, but most importantly the country’s longest expansion will continue its winning streak.

Closer to home, the population will increase by 74,400 and the number of wage and salary workers will increase by 1.8%. The leading sectors for job growth will be PST, health care, and construction. Hopefully, the 73rd Colorado General Assembly will successfully find a way to fund a massive backlog of transportation projects, slowdown runaway health care costs, and pacify the PK-20 education system that feels they are underappreciated and not sufficiently funded.

For more details check out the cber.co Colorado Economic 2020 Forecast. You can access the chartbook with all the data or the executive summary.

Best wishes for success and happiness in 2020!

Gary Horvath