Covered employment and wages in Colorado increased for the twelfth consecutive year in 1998 with an increase of 77,710 jobs. This was similar to recent increases, which have average 74,670 jobs over the previous five years. The increase in total wages was the largest ever recorded at $6.8 billion. The previous year's record increase of $5.3 billion was 9.9 percent while '98's increase was 11.6 percent. The average annual wage increased by 7.3 percent to $32,257 despite an average increase of only 2.6 percent within Government employment. This was the fourth consecutive year that the annual average wage increased by a larger percentage than the previous year.

The single greatest strength of the Colorado economy was in construction. Not only did employment in the Construction division increase by a larger percentage than any other division, but much of the growth within other divisions can be attributed to the boom. Industries with related increases included mortgage loan brokerages, construction material manufacturers and wholesalers, mining of construction sand, gravel and dimension stone, real estate agencies, and landscape and horticulture services. The growth in the Construction division could reverse rapidly if in-migration ceases as happened during the eighties.

Government employment has decreased as a percentage of total employment for seven consecutive years for two reasons. The Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR) limits growth to the combined rate of inflation and population growth and private sector employment has increased at an accelerated rate. Mandatory sentencing and the drug war have shifted government resources toward corrections in an unprecedented manner. Population growth has increased demand for educational services. TABOR and the increases in correction and educational services employment have dramatically reduced the ability of other government agencies to compete for resources.

Colorado's competitive advantage position has decreased significantly over the past several years, which should lead to a decreased growth rate in the future. The median prices of homes have doubled in many communities over the last decade, and the Denver-Boulder-Greeley consumer price index has closed the gap with the national index and appears to be poised to overtake it. Roads have become more congested, leading to longer commutes. The availability of workers at all skill levels has decreased, and wages have risen significantly faster than in other states.

Covered employment increased for the twelfth consecutive year with an increase of 77,710 jobs. Annual average employment increased in fifty-seven counties and only declined in six. The loss in employment in the six declining counties totaled 345 jobs. The largest gains in employment were in counties along the I-25 and I-70 corridors and the largest percent gains were in adjacent rural counties. Counties that did not participate in the rapid expansion were generally in the northwest, southwest and east of the state without interstate highway access.

Douglas County had the largest one-year percentage increase at 18.4 percent. Little San Juan and Saguache Counties were the only two other counties to grow in excess of ten percent at 16.1 and 13.0 respectively. The counties experiencing an annual growth rate between nine and ten percent were Elbert at 9.9, Archuleta at 9.8 and Huerfano at 9.0.

Denver and Arapahoe were the only counties to add over ten thousand jobs in 1998 at 15,135 and 10,850 respectively. The next largest gain was in El Paso County with an addition of 7,544 jobs. The other counties adding over five thousand jobs were Douglas at 6,855, Boulder at 6,060, Adams at 5,825 and Larimer at 5,368.

The northern Front Range counties of Larimer and Weld added jobs faster on a percentage basis than the Denver MSA. Larimer increased by 5.1 percent to 110,447 and Weld grew by 5.3 percent to 64,282. The Denver MSA increased by 3.9 percent to 1.08 million.

The county that added the most jobs over a five-year period was Arapahoe at 64,169 followed by El Paso at 49,311 and Denver at 48,188. Douglas was a distant fourth at 25,922 followed by Larimer at 25,022. Jefferson County, which has the state's largest workforce, added 24,733 jobs since 1993. Three counties experienced a decrease in employment over the five-year period. Jackson County's employment declined by 105 jobs, Costilla's by 107 and Rio Blanco's by 122.

Employment growth slowed in many of the ski counties. Summit County employment increased by 3.6 percent compared to 4.3 percent the previous year. Eagle County increased by 6.3 percent in '98 versus 9.4 in '97 and Pitkin increased by 1.6 in '98 and 4.3. Bucking the trend was Routt County with an increase of 6.8 percent versus 2.5 percent in '97.

Average Wages For the second year, fifty-nine of Colorado's sixty -three counties registered an increase in their average annual wage. The only counties to experience a decline were Clear Creek, Phillips, Mineral and Costilla. Only Jackson County experienced a decline over a five-year period.

Boulder County had the largest increase in average wage at 14.1 percent or $4,668, to average $37,825 in 1998. The average wage in Boulder County has increased by 33.0 percent over three years. The increases were due to additional high wage technology jobs and the elimination of low wage work-study jobs from the ES202 report in 1997. Boulder edged out Denver for the second highest average wage in the state in 1998.

Arapahoe County had the highest average wage again in 1998 at $38,528. This was a 9.2 percent increase. The average wage in Arapahoe County has increased by 34.1 percent in five years. The lowest average wage was in Hinsdale County at $15,229.

Average wages, as calculated by the ES202 program, can be misleading due to the way that jobs are counted. The ES202 does not collect data on the number of hours worked nor does it adjust for multiple jobholders.

Total Wages Colorado recorded its largest ever increase in total covered wages in 1998 at $6.8 billion. This was an 11.6 percent increase to $65.5 billion. All of the major divisions recorded an increase in total wages. The division with the highest total was Services at $18.7 billion. Sixty-one out of sixty-three counties experienced an increase in total wages in 1998. Only Rio Blanco and Costilla declined.

The largest increase was in Denver County at $1.6 billion to $16.7 billion. The second largest increase was in Arapahoe County at $1.2 billion to $10.1 billion. Other increases in excess of $500 million were in Boulder, up $942 million to $6.0 billion, and El Paso, up $672 million to $6.5 billion.

Once again, the largest one-year percentage increase was in Douglas County at 29.9 percent. The second largest increase occurred in tiny San Juan County at 21.9 percent.

Total wages in Douglas County have increased by 195.8 percent over five years. Two other counties have recorded five-year increases in excess of 100 percent. Custer County's total wages have risen 121.3 percent to $14.3 million and Elbert County's total wages have risen 114.3 percent to $53.4 million.

Employment Annual average covered employment in Colorado increased by 77,710 jobs to 2,030,696 over the year. This was an increase of 3.98 percent. The increase was 1,551 jobs less than the previous year. As usual, the largest increase occurred in Services, representing 32.4 percent of the total increase. The second largest increase was in Construction at 13,599 jobs or 17.5 percent of the additional jobs. The three largest counties based on total employment also added the largest number of jobs. These were Denver up 15,135, Arapahoe up 10,850 and El Paso up 7,554 jobs. Employment in the Denver MSA increased by 40,874 jobs or 3.93 percent. Employment in the balance of the state increased by 36,836 jobs or 4.04 percent. There were fifty-seven counties that recorded an increase in employment and only six that experienced a decline.

Wages Total covered wages increased by an unprecedented $6.8 billion to $65.5 billion in 1998. This was an 11.6 percent increase from the previous year. Covered wages in the five county Denver MSA increased by $3.8 billion or 11.0 percent to $38.5 billion compared to the balance of the state where total wages increased by $3.0 billion or 12.4 percent to $27.0 billion. The major division with the highest total wage increase was Services at $2.3 billion while the division with smallest increase was Mining at $14.7 million. Total wages have risen 115.3 percent in the ten years since 1988. The Denver-Boulder-Greeley consumer price index for all urban consumers increased by 2.4 percent on an annual average basis from 1997 to 1998. Since 1988, the CPI-U has increased by 42.3 percent. When adjusted with the CPI-U, total wages have risen 51.2 percent over ten years. In 1988, the national CPI-U was 118.3 and the Denver-Boulder-Greeley CPI-U was 113.7. In 1998 these values were 163.0 and 161.9 respectively.