The 2019 outlook for Colorado and Mesa County is promising.

The Colorado economy has been growing in 2018, and the  Colorado Business Economic Outlook (CBEO)  projects continued growth in the new year, but at a slower pace.

More than 53,000 jobs are expected to be added in 2019 - which may sound like a lot of jobs - but it's actually nearly 12,000 fewer jobs than in 2018. And when you consider the Colorado workforce is about 3.7 million, it makes the number of new jobs seem even smaller.

Of course, the number of new jobs expected in Colorado would be even higher had Amazon selected Denver to be the location for its new headquarters. That recent announcement was definitely disappointing, still the employment outlook for 2019 looks bright.

As far as Mesa County is concerned, the CBEO says growing investments in energy, health care, aerospace and other sectors have led to historically low unemployment in the region. With several business park projects underway, there are unique development opportunities in Mesa County and a positive outlook for 2019.

Of course, all of the news isn't fabulous. The report also indicates commodity prices will negatively impact industries like agriculture and energy.

The report comes from the Leeds School of Business at Colorado University.

I don't fully understand all of the economic factors and numbers, but when the people who know way more about it than I do are optimistic about the future, it gives me optimism as well. In a world where it seems like the news is mostly bad, I'll gladly welcome some positive news and a reason to be optimistic about the new year.

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