BRD news

The Leeds Business Confidence Index (LBCI) Q2 2025

Erik William Jeffries — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 21:54:01 +0000

The Leeds Business Confidence Index (LBCI) Q2 2025 Erik William J鈥� Mon, 03/31/2025 - 15:54

Business confidence took the second-steepest dive ahead of Q2 2025, resting at the third-lowest level in the 23-year history of the Leeds Business Confidence Index (LBCI). The reason for the pessimism can largely be summarized due to the uncertainty surrounding new federal policies. Reversing gains measured in Q1 2025, all components of the LBCI posted year-over-year and over-the-quarter declines ahead of Q2 2025.

Download the Report

Traditional

White

Colorado Secretary of State Q4 2024 Indicators Report

Erik William Jeffries — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 13:22:15 +0000

Colorado Secretary of State Q4 2024 Indicators Report Erik William J鈥� Mon, 01/27/2025 - 06:22

New entity filings in Q4 2024 decreased 0.4% year-over-year and 1.9% quarter-over-quarter. The seasonal decrease from Q3 to Q4 occurred at a slower-than-average rate.

Download the Report

View the Interactive Dashboard

Traditional

White

Colorado Business Review, Issue 1, 2025

Kelsey Cipolla — Fri, 24 Jan 2025 18:59:11 +0000

Colorado Business Review, Issue 1, 2025 Kelsey Cipolla Fri, 01/24/2025 - 11:59

Employment in Colorado is estimated to have increased 1.6%, or 46,800 jobs, in 2024, and the state is projected to add 36,700 jobs in 2025, pushing the economy to new peaks.

Download the Report

Traditional

White

The Leeds Business Confidence Index (LBCI) Q1 2025

Kelsey Cipolla — Tue, 07 Jan 2025 12:00:22 +0000

The Leeds Business Confidence Index (LBCI) Q1 2025 Kelsey Cipolla Tue, 01/07/2025 - 05:00

Business confidence took one of the most neutral looks in the history of the LBCI as panelists weigh new looming policy. All components of the Leeds Business Confidence Index (LBCI) posted year-over-year and over-the-quarter gains ahead of Q1 2025. The new presidential administration, tariffs, and interest rates were commonly cited as the primary reason for panelists鈥� responses.

Download the Report

Traditional

White

The Leeds Business Confidence Index (LBCI) Q4 2024

Erik William Jeffries — Mon, 30 Sep 2024 21:02:57 +0000

The Leeds Business Confidence Index (LBCI) Q4 2024 Erik William J鈥� Mon, 09/30/2024 - 15:02

Download The Leeds Business Confidence Index (LBCI) Q4 2024

Business confidence took a step back ahead of Q4 as panelists process uncertainty, notably around the election. Confidence rebounded to positive territory looking an additional quarter out to Q1 2025. All components of the Leeds Business Confidence Index (LBCI) posted year-over-year gains ahead of Q4 2024, but all components slipped quarter-over-quarter. The upcoming election, interest rates, and inflation were commonly cited as the primary reason for panelists鈥� responses.

Download the Report

Off

Traditional

White

Colorado Secretary of State Q2 2024 Indicators Report

Erik William Jeffries — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 21:12:14 +0000

Colorado Secretary of State Q2 2024 Indicators Report Erik William J鈥� Mon, 08/12/2024 - 15:12

New entity filings in Q2 2024 decreased 21.7% year-over-year and 4.7% quarter-over-quarter. Business filing renewals were also down for the quarter. Colorado鈥檚 labor market remained tight in the second quarter. Colorado鈥檚 job opening rate ranked 15th-highest nationally in May, and the ratio of job openings to the number of unemployed individuals remained above the national average (1.4 versus 1.2). Colorado continued to record growth in jobs and income.

[button url="/business/node/18299/attachment" color="blue"]Read/Download the Report[/button]

Download the Report

View the Interactive Dashboard

Off

Traditional

White

Working with Colorado, for Colorado鈥攁nd Its Future

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 17:02:19 +0000

Working with Colorado, for Colorado鈥攁nd Its Future Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 04/11/2024 - 11:02

The Business Research Division has served communities across the state for more than 100 years.

When you read the business forecast report published annually by the Business Research Division (BRD) at the Leeds School of Business, you鈥檒l see data points from every corner and pocket of Colorado. It represents the business landscape in its entirety鈥攕mall, family-owned restaurants and farms, to global corporations and every business venture between.

To contribute to the state鈥檚 economic prosperity and thriving business community, BRD makes a deliberate effort to provide every sector with the tools they need to be successful.

鈥淲e feel that the University of Colorado is an extremely important part of the state economy, and we think it is extremely important that we analyze the economy, and we give people actionable information so that they can lead better lives through education,鈥� said Richard Wobbekind, Leeds associate dean of business and government relations and senior economist. 鈥淲hat we're doing is taking the information we produce to the people.鈥�

Leeds鈥� BRD has been around for more than a century, nearly as long as the business school itself. From its inception, the division prioritized community engagement鈥攊ts work is co-created with the Colorado communities it serves.

鈥淚t is a long-running unit within this school of business that was really designed to interface with the broader business community in terms of both presenting material and doing research projects,鈥� Wobbekind said.

鈥淏eyond doing individual projects for companies or local governments and forecasting projects like the annual outlook report, more broadly we disseminate our information in a wide variety of channels and a lot of that information is available for free on our website. In many ways, it is about the access to trusted business information.鈥�

They're working on an economic dashboard that lives on the site that provides a barometer of key economic indicators in the state, with an emphasis on recent economic developments and the resulting impacts and implications on the Colorado economy. It will provide a handful of charts with brief analysis and be updated as key data are released.

鈥淭he work that we do is raising the quality of life in the state, one person at a time, one business at a time.鈥�

Richard Wobbekind, Leeds associate dean of business and government relations and senior economist

The center publishes a quarterly Leeds Business Confidence Index, which gauges Colorado business leaders鈥� opinions about the economy and how their industry will perform in the coming quarter. Additionally, it produces the Colorado Business Review, which provides specific analysis on a particular topic or industry, and the Quarterly Business and Economic Indicators report, produced in conjunction with the Colorado Secretary of State鈥檚 Office to reveal the correlations between various business filing data and economic metrics. BRD has been partnering with the secretary of state鈥檚 office since 2011.

They are also a resource for conducting research studies on specific areas, entities and industries. For example, the recent University of Colorado 2023 Economic Impact Study and the 2019 Colorado Natural and Organic Industry Study.

Just released is a report on the nonprofit industry, completed with the Colorado Nonprofit Association. It showed that nonprofits contributed $62 billion to the state鈥檚 annual economy and supported 262,000 jobs.

Commitment to Colorado

Wobbekind and Brian Lewandowski, executive director of the BRD, deliver frequent presentations to the business community and the community-at-large all over the state, both virtually and in person.

鈥淲e really try to disseminate the work that we do and the information we collect to a wide variety of audiences both geographically and industry-wise,鈥� Wobbekind said. 鈥淲hether we鈥檙e talking about the economy to the nonprofit community or hospitals or healthcare groups, we are customizing that information and making it useful.鈥�

He continued, 鈥淲e share general information, but when we are in Northern Colorado, we are highlighting data that is important to Weld and Larimer counties, and when we鈥檙e in Grand Junction, for instance, we鈥檙e highlighting important industries in that geographic area like agriculture, tourism, manufacturing, natural resources and mining.鈥�

The BRD will celebrate the release of its 60^th forecast report in December 2024 at its Annual Colorado Business Economic Outlook Forum. There鈥檚 always an in-person kickoff with webinars and virtual opportunities for alumni and business leaders. Again, accessibility is key to effectiveness and true impact.

鈥淭he annual report features input from more than 130 business and government contributors from around the state of Colorado, so part of the annual kickoff is highlighting all of this work and data collection, but the ultimate goal is converting it all to usable data for business and government decision-making,鈥� Wobbekind said.

Serving through teamwork

Three people make up the BRD team: Wobbekind, Lewandowski and Adam Illig, the BRD鈥檚 data scientist.

The division also hires five to seven undergraduate students, many of them Leeds students, to help proofread the annual report and create data charts. The students help keep the tone of the report engaging and accessible, and they learn how to interpret data and other useful economic research skills along the way.

Often, the annual report contributors around the state include CU and Leeds alumni. Wobbekind describes how helpful it has been over the years when Leeds MBA graduates contribute to their research projects, lending invaluable perspective from their vantage points working across the Colorado business landscape.

It is a true collaboration for Colorado and with Colorado, because everyone involved cares about the people and ultimate prosperity of the state.

鈥淲e're really trying to help people across the state of Colorado understand the economy better, understand the environment they're operating in better to make better decisions,鈥� Wobbekind said.

In the media, they are frequently called upon as experts at making sense of the economy鈥檚 twists and turns, including fluctuations in the housing market, unemployment and rate of business formation.

鈥淚 think what we鈥檙e doing, the work that we do is raising the quality of life in the state, one person at a time, one business at a time. We're helping the state be more successful. We are helping the government and business leaders be more effective at their jobs with spending and hiring. And we鈥檙e helping people be prepared for the things that we see as potential clouds on the horizon so they can be ready for change.鈥�

The Business Research Division has served communities across the state for more than 100 years.

Traditional

White

Pessimism Continues to Reign in Survey of Business Leaders鈥�, But Signs of Hope Emerging

Anonymous — Fri, 24 Mar 2023 06:00:00 +0000

Pessimism Continues to Reign in Survey of Business Leaders鈥�, But Signs of Hope Emerging Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 03/24/2023 - 00:00

It鈥檚 the third-longest period of negativity in the history of the Leeds Business Confidence Index.鈥� 鈥嬧€�

If you鈥檙e looking for good news in the latest quarterly Leeds Business Confidence Index, it鈥檚 that while business leaders remain pessimistic about Colorado鈥檚 economic trends, they sound less dispirited than surveys past.

However, with a five of the last six indices returning negative sentiment from industry, we鈥檙e currently in the third-longest period of pessimism in the index鈥檚 20-year history.

Perhaps one development tamping down any growing optimism is the drumbeat of bad news related to banking and Fed actions to curb inflation. Several leaders mentioned banking issues in explaining their responses.

鈥淭here is plenty of pessimism in the index, but we do see a few hopeful signs, including optimism about sales and expectations of lower inflation,鈥� said Brian Lewandowski, executive director of the Business Research Division at Leeds, which publishes the report.

MORE: Read full report

The LBCI captures Colorado business leaders鈥� three- and six-month outlooks on the national and state economies, industry sales, profits, hiring plans, and capital expenditures. For the second quarter, 230 participants recorded their responses to a wide-ranging survey on these economic topics.

Among the highlights:

Not surprisingly, interest rates (38 percent) and inflation (31 percent) were the two most-noted reasons for panelists鈥� pessimism as we head into the next quarter.
Inflation in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood metro area ran ahead of the national pace from 2013 to 2020, but panelists are forecasting improvement鈥攁 majority said prices will be lower than current levels by the end of December. Updated BRD forecasting expects inflation to increase 4.3 percent from the year, a slight improvement over the previous projection of 4.5 percent.
Slightly more than half of participants (56.9 percent) expect the United States to enter a recession in 2023.
Among the six components measured by the index, only industry sales (50.4) was in optimistic territory. Each component increased from the first quarter, but the other five remain below 50. In a troubling sign, the lowest data point was the national economy (37.1).

Why Leeds Business Research Division Download full report

Colorado鈥檚 business leaders have maintained a gloomy outlook throughout the uneven road back from the pandemic-driven recession.

Traditional

White

Colorado Secretary of State Q3 2022 Indicators Report

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Colorado Secretary of State Q3 2022 Indicators Report Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 11/15/2022 - 00:00

The economy continues to take sideways steps emerging from the pandemic. For every bit of good news鈥攍ike the state's persistent jobs recovery or better-than-expected record of new entities forming鈥攖here remain stubborn headwinds related to inflation, rising interest rates and more.

Report summary Download full report Business Research Division

Traditional

White

Leeds Readies its Crystal Ball for Annual Economic Forecast

Anonymous — Wed, 09 Nov 2022 23:42:51 +0000

Leeds Readies its Crystal Ball for Annual Economic Forecast Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 11/09/2022 - 16:42

Entrepreneurship, technology and major headwinds all figure to play leading roles at the Business Economic Outlook Forum. 鈥嬧€�

Richard Wobbekind, foreground, of Leeds and Elizabeth Garner, state demographer, present the 2022 economic forecast at last year's forum. Last year's forecast focused on emerging from the pandemic; many of those themes鈥攍ike inflation and labor shortages鈥攔eturn for an encore this year. Below, Erick Mueller works with fledgling founders in a Rural Entrepreneurship Workshop event.

Entrepreneurs will face plenty of challenges going into 2023鈥攂ut for those seeking investors, the picture is perhaps not as dire as you might expect.

If you go

The annual Business Economic Outlook Forum takes place Dec. 5 at the Grand Hyatt Denver. The event will be fully in person. It鈥檚 free to attend, but registration is required.
12:30 p.m.: Check in
1 p.m.: Welcomes, state of the CU system
1:15 p.m.: 2023 Colorado economic outlook
2:30 p.m.: Keynote panel on disruptive technologies
3:45 p.m.: Industry breakout sessions
4:45 p.m.: Networking reception

According to conventional wisdom, rising interest rates will limit investor appetite and resources, so they鈥檒l be more selective about the businesses they support. But Erick Mueller, executive director of the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship at the Leeds School of Business, said there鈥檚 a lag in institutional money that will help founders weather the storm.

鈥淔rom the venture capital perspective, they鈥檝e already raised their funds, so they still have money they鈥檙e looking to invest,鈥� Mueller said. 鈥淚t will make it harder for them to raise their next fund, but they still have money on the sidelines that they鈥檙e ready to deploy.鈥�

That鈥檚 a topic Mueller hopes to touch on in greater detail next month, when he leads a panel discussion on tech, trends and tales in entrepreneurship at the annual Business Economic Outlook Forum.

鈥淭here are a lot of great ideas out there, but in a climate like ours, you need to be scrappier and more creative,鈥� he said, sharing a story from his latest venture, Funovation, which specializes in developing fun attractions that can be deployed in virtually any space. The company launched just ahead of the subprime slide that triggered a recession.

鈥榊ou've got to be scrappier鈥�

鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have to be too creative鈥攗ntil things dried up,鈥� Mueller said. 鈥淭hen, we had to lean on our vendors in different ways to stay afloat. We鈥檙e not in what I鈥檇 call a contraction right now, but you鈥檝e got to be scrappier.鈥�

The entrepreneurship panel is just one feature of the Business Economic Outlook Forum, which is headlined by a deep dive into the state and national economies. The presentation鈥攈eadlined by Richard Wobbekind, senior economist and faculty director of Leeds鈥� Business Research Division, and Elizabeth Garner, state demographer鈥攑rovides a forecast for each of Colorado鈥檚 main industry categories while offering a macro view on larger trends.

The forum always draws a crowd, but should be especially popular this year in the face of serious headwinds鈥攊nflation, interest rates, supply chains, worker shortages and so on.

鈥淲e鈥檙e helping connect the dots for business and government,鈥� said Brian Lewandowski, BRD鈥檚 executive director, who said the forecast is compiled in partnership with more than 100 private and public leaders across Colorado. 鈥淲e look at these larger stories, like rising interest rates, and show all the places where we expect they will create impact throughout the economy.鈥�

In addition to the forecast, the event will feature a keynote panel on disruptive technologies and industry breakouts on real estate and finance and water, in addition to the entrepreneurship session, which also will have a tech flavor.

鈥淥ne of the threads we鈥檒l be looking at is technology in our lives鈥攖he positives and the negatives, as well as the opportunities that maybe haven鈥檛 been fully appreciated yet,鈥� Mueller said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 fun, looking in the crystal ball with a group of really smart people to predict what鈥檚 next for robotics, quantum computing and nano.鈥�

He鈥檚 got one prediction already: As they have in the past, entrepreneurs will continue to lead the way through this challenging economy.

鈥淔ounders are very well equipped for times of uncertainty, just in terms of tolerance for risk and ambiguity,鈥� Mueller said. 鈥淭hey see opportunities where other folks may only see the downside.鈥�

Why Leeds Business Economic Outlook Forum Business Research Division

Here's a preview of what to expect at the Business Economic Outlook Forum on Dec. 5 in Denver.

Traditional

White

BRD news

The Leeds Business Confidence Index (LBCI) Q2 2025

Related Articles

Colorado Secretary of State Q4 2024 Indicators Report

Related Articles

Colorado Business Review, Issue 1, 2025

Related Articles

The Leeds Business Confidence Index (LBCI) Q1 2025

Related Articles

The Leeds Business Confidence Index (LBCI) Q4 2024

Off

Colorado Secretary of State Q2 2024 Indicators Report

Off

Working with Colorado, for Colorado鈥攁nd Its Future

Commitment to Colorado

Serving through teamwork

Pessimism Continues to Reign in Survey of Business Leaders鈥�, But Signs of Hope Emerging

Colorado Secretary of State Q3 2022 Indicators Report

Leeds Readies its Crystal Ball for Annual Economic Forecast

鈥榊ou've got to be scrappier鈥�