Colorado’s economy last year grew at its slowest pace in five years, and hit the brakes as it crossed over into 2017, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Colorado’s gross domestic product, or GDP, adjusted for inflation, rose 2 percent last year, which ranked 13th among states and outpaced the 1.5 percent increase in U.S. GDP.
It represents the slowest pace of growth for the state since 2011’s 1.4 percent gain. Colorado’s economy rose 3 percent in 2015, which ranked fourth among states, and 4.7 percent 2014, which ranked fifth.
Washington, Oregon, Utah, New Hampshire and Florida reported the strongest economic growth last year. North Dakota, Alaska, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Louisiana, West Virginia and New Mexico were mired in recession with declining output.
Colorado’s economic growth between the third and fourth quarters, converted into an annual rate, was 1.1 percent, which ranked 36th among stated, behind Nebraska and just ahead of Louisiana.
Health care, professional services and retail trade were the biggest contributors to economic growth in the fourth quarter in Colorado, while rental real estate, agriculture and manufacturing were the biggest drag, according to the bureau.
Momentum, however, appears to be returning. Front Range rents started rising again this year after taking a breather in the second half of 2016 and the number of unemployed workers has dropped sharply, pushing the state’s unemployment down to a record low 2.6 percent, the tightest in the country. Oil and gas activity is also picking up.
