As in any year, Colorado’s businesses won some and lost some in 2016. And there was much that stayed the same.
The labor market stayed tight and economists are already predicting another year of job growth in 2017. Housing prices continued to rise, with Denver ranking third in the nation most of the year for home price appreciation. And more companies announced they were moving their headquarters to Denver — including e-mail service SendGrid, Swiss asset manager Partners Group Holding AG and, more recently, BP’s Lower 48 regional headquarters.
But other singular events are likely to reverberate within their industries for years. The oil and gas industry saw its first public offering in two years and that came from Denver’s Extraction Oil & Gas Inc. While native retailer Sports Authority called it quits this summer, Colorado welcomed its first physical presence of Amazon, which also began adding sales tax to consumer purchases in February.
As busy as 2016 was for Colorado companies and consumers, the new year promises even more twists and turns.
Read the top business stories of 2016
- Amazon and Colorado make peace
- Vail buys Whistler Blackcomb
- Voters lift minimum wage
- Towns get creative to solve high country housing crisis
- Chipotle’s less-than-healthy recovery
- Internet shakes up how we watch TV
- A new era for Molson Coors
- R.I.P. Sports Authority
- Cybersecurity firms gain investment as hacks proliferate
- Overtourism becomes an issue
- Denver home prices stay hot, but rent gains cooling
- Energy outlook brightens
