DENVER — Colorado businesses said they’re almost twice as worried about our state’s economic future as they are about the nation’s.
This is from the Colorado Business Roundtable survey that just came out.
The survey asked 50 business executives about what’s concerning them. The responses point toward Colorado’s affordability issues and policies supporting workers.
“What we've been seeing over time is really the layering on effect of regulation, rules for businesses that really add a cost of doing business to Colorado,” Colorado Business Roundtable President Debbie Brown said. “When the economy is strong, our view is that everybody benefits. But also, as a former small business owner, I really appreciate the fact that unneeded regulation and overburden regulate regulatory environment can really dampen that system for everybody.”
Brown owned a consulting firm when Proposition 118 was voted into law in Colorado in 2020. It was enacted last year and guarantees the right to paid family or medical leave.
While it's a good move for worker rights in Colorado, it only adds to the cost of doing business here.
Brown said when you add on Denver’s minimum wage — which is among the top in the nation — and housing affordability issues, 65% of the executive surveyed said state policy is having a negative impact on business versus 47% blaming national policy.
65% of respondents also said they expect Colorado’s business climate to trend downward in the future, compared to 35% saying they expect the national climate to do the same.
“For many, many years, we'd have a positive net migration of folks flocking to Colorado, and now we're seeing that stagnant or declining [because of affordability],” Brown said. “So to some degree, that puts pressures on businesses in terms of workforce talent strategies.”
Despite these numbers, 60% of executives said they plan to keep or grow their workforce here in Colorado, which Brown said points to the desire our state provides.
