Colorado business filings mixed, state still in a tight labor market, latest economic report shows

Denver, October 24, 2023 - Colorado’s new entity filings continued to increase year-over-year, but dropped over the quarter, according to a report released today by the University of Colorado Boulder and Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold.

The Quarterly Business and Economic Indicators report is prepared by the Leeds Business Research Division (BRD) at CU Boulder in conjunction with the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office.

The latest report for the third quarter of 2023 shows that Colorado recorded 43,902 new entity filings, most of which were LLCs. Filings dropped 20% from Q2, pulling back from record levels last fiscal year. A fee credit that reduced limited liability filing fees to $1 likely contributed to that initial surge.

“This report reflects what we believe to be a normalization of the filings following the conclusion of the fee reduction,” said Richard Wobbekind, Executive Director of the Business Research Division.

Business renewals increased over the year and over the quarter. There were 175,785 renewals in Q3 2023, up 7.3% year-over-year and 2.7% over the previous quarter. Businesses in good standing also increased, while dissolutions dropped slightly.

“Today’s report underscores the resilience of the Colorado economy. Colorado continues to be a great place to not only start a business, but to stay in business. I’m very excited to see our business community continue to thrive in the state,” said Secretary of State Jena Griswold. 

Colorado’s labor market is not lagging as much as suggested, despite a slight increase in the unemployment rate, up 0.4 percentage points compared to the previous quarter. Colorado’s unemployment rate for September sits at 3.2%, compared to a national rate of 3.8%.

While Colorado remains above average in the jobs recovery from the pandemic recession, the state’s jobs growth continues to show signs of cooling in 2023.

The state’s job growth stayed at 1.4% in September 2023, ranking 39th nationally.

The employment slowdown appears to have a paradoxical relationship with other metrics, as Colorado records the 11th-highest job openings rate, the 4th-highest labor force participation rate, the 19th-fastest growth in labor force and the highest number of people in the labor force in state history. 

Inflation also continues to improve, with small fluctuations at the state and national level. The Consumer Price Index  in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood metropolitan area (MSA) increased 5.4% year-over-year this September, compared to 7.7% in September 2022. The national rate increased to 3.7% in September, compared to 3% in June 2023. Core inflation, which includes all items except food and energy, increased 5.4% in the Denver region.

Just as in the second quarter, other economic metrics such as state GDP, personal income, and taxable retail, are posting positive but slower growth.

You can find monthly information on key economic statistics and trends that impact the state on the Colorado Business and Economic Indicator Dashboard, launched by the Colorado Secretary of State's office in conjunction with BRD.