CSBJ Daily

DENVER – The Vectra Bank Colorado Small Business Index for Colorado registered 87 during April, down from a revised 89.6 during March.

“The latest report on U.S. GDP had both good and bad news with the same piece of data,” said Jeff Thredgold, corporate economist for Vectra Bank Colorado. “The bad news is that the 0.6 percent real annual growth in the first quarter of 2008 matches the pathetic rate of growth in 2007’s fourth quarter. Two quarters in a row of very weak U.S. growth is weighing on Colorado small business owners. The good news is that the economy is still growing, which may mean we are avoiding recession.”

Colorado’s unemployment rate was estimated at 4.4 percent during the latest month, unchanged from the rate of the prior month. Total employment rose by 38,500 jobs during the past 12 months. The U.S. economy lost an estimated 20,000 net jobs in April, a much smaller loss than feared.

The U.S. unemployment rate declined slightly to 5 percent. Stronger-than-expected U.S economic growth during 2008’s first quarter is a positive sign for Colorado’s small business sector, Thredgold said.

Thredgold also noted that the Colorado SBI declined in April because of slowing Colorado job growth and continued weak U.S. economic growth, which offset the benefits of reduced financing costs from recent Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.

The Vectra Bank Colorado Small Business Index for Colorado measures business conditions from the viewpoint of the Colorado small business owner or manager.

A lower Index number is associated with less favorable business conditions for Colorado’s small businesses. The Index uses 100 for calendar year 1997 as its base year. The Index also includes revisions to various historical and new forecast components as they become available.

The U.S. Small Business index declined to 62.1 during April from a revised 66 during March.