Areas Where Colorado's Economy Has Diversified

La Voz last month outlined some of the ways Colorado's economy has diversified in recent decades. Noting that the the state's historical dependence on natural resource extraction has made the local economy prone to booms and busts, La Voz looks at a few areas where the state has moved away from having a limited economy:

Outdoor Recreation
Tourism
Cannabis
Renewable Energy

To be sure, the first three on the list are connected to tourism overall, although there's nothing wrong with people traveling to Colorado — especially if the reasons are far more diverse than just "skiing."

La Voz sums it up:

Colorado’s dependence on the extraction industries for its economic well-being has put long-time residents through a historical roller coaster ride of boom and bust cycles. Those days may finally be behind the state with low unemployment rates, some of the fastest growing companies in the country and a diversified set of industries drawn to the state. Now the state’s largest employers are from the Aviation, Healthcare, Telecommunications and Financial Services industries. The new mix of companies has provided sustained growth and an economic engine that keeps Colorado near the top of the class.

New Mexico Never Really Recovered from the Great Recession

The Santa Fe New Mexican recently posted an informative article on the New Mexico economy, which has never really gotten back to where it was before the Great Recession of 2008-2009 — at least not in terms of employment. 

When it comes to New Mexico’s economy, 2006 seems like a lifetime ago.
Job growth that year was its fastest in more than a decade. The unemployment rate dropped to 3.6 percent. The price of oil was at record levels. State government was awash with cash. 

 

Then, with stunning speed, came the Great Recession in December 2007, and New Mexico still hasn’t recovered.  In a state where the economy is based in large part on government dollars, it’s government numbers that paint the picture.  The state’s jobless rate was 6 percent in December 2017, according to preliminary estimates. Alaska is the only state doing worse.

The nation’s rate was 4.1 percent, a 17-year low.  Of New Mexico’s 33 counties, all but tiny Mora County have higher unemployment rates than they did before the recession.  The state hasn’t yet gotten back the more than 50,000 jobs it lost during the recession, making New Mexico one of only a few states that have yet to recover their jobs. 

Read the full article.