Unexpected jump in new business filings indicates Colorado economy not winded yet
Businesses continue to hire and people continue to form businesses despite concerns of a recession
The Denver Post

Tripp Fay/For the Summit Daily News
Colorado residents registered more businesses in the third quarter than they did in the second, a positive sign for future job gains in the state. But business dissolutions and delinquencies are also on the rise, a sign of economic stress, according to the Quarterly Economic Indicators Report from the University of Colorado Boulder and the Colorado Secretary of State.
Colorado recorded 43,657 new entity filings, which is a 14.5% increase from the third quarter of last year and a 10.6% increase from the second quarter. Looking at the most popular type, limited liability companies or LLCs, there was a 20.6% jump over the year. New business filings typically fall between the second and third quarters, and don’t usually accelerate heading into a recession, although people pushed out of a job will sometimes launch out on their own during a recession.
“We usually see a seasonal decline,” said Jena Griswold, Colorado Secretary of State, during a news call Tuesday morning, regarding the big jump in new business filings.
At the same time, there were 11,614 business dissolutions in the third quarter, which is a 27.1% decrease over the past year and down slightly from the second quarter. And the number of delinquencies, or businesses behind on renewing their registrations, was up 10.1% year-over-year.
Job growth remains strong, unemployment low and Colorado has the second-highest share of its adult population engaged in the labor force of any state at 69.5%. That ratio is above pre-pandemic levels, and as it moves higher, it should in theory leave a smaller pool of people available to start a business or other venture. But that assumes people who have a job don’t start side gigs.
Read more on DenverPost.com.

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