DENVER Colorados economy has been promoted from a snail to a turtle, the Legislatures top economist said Monday.
And that counts for good news after three years of dismal predictions from legislative economist Natalie Mullis and forecasters in the governors office.
Mullis estimated that Colorado employers added nearly 35,000 jobs between January 2010 and April 2011.
This is not gangbusters growth, but it is a solid, slow recovery in employment, Mullis said. Were looking at a turtles pace instead of a snails pace, which is better.
Legislators heard the news Monday during the quarterly forecasts from their economists and the governors office.
The best news for school districts is that state revenues grew enough to send schools an extra $67.5 million. Gov. John Hickenlooper in February proposed cutting schools by $332 million. But the Legislature whittled those cuts down to $160 million, once Mondays news is taken into account.
For now, the state budget remains in balance, and Hickenlooper will not have to roll out a new round of cuts this summer.
Despite the slow improvements, it will be years before Colorados economy ever gets back to a jackrabbits pace.
The unemployment rate in Southwest Colorados five counties was 7.6 percent in April, below this years predicted statewide rate of 8.5 percent.
Retail trade in Southwest Colorado is slow, and major construction projects in La Plata County have come to a near standstill, according to the Legislatures report.
Both the Legislatures and governors economists expect the unemployment rate to stay significantly higher than normal at least through 2013.
Legislators listen closely to the forecasts because the states budget is intimately tied to the economy. A slightly better jobs report means more people will be paying taxes, and it could mean that next year, legislators wont have to make so many cuts to schools, hospitals and prisons.
Rep. Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver, said he doubts the Legislature is done cutting public programs, despite Mondays forecast.
While its good news, the general public needs to know that were not out of the woods, said Ferrandino, a member of the budget committee.
Hickenloopers budget office turned in a slightly more pessimistic view.
It is taking a long time to rebalance the national economy, said Jason Schrock, chief economist in the governors Office of State Planning and Budgeting.
The economy got way out of whack, starting I think in the mid-90s, Schrock said. We need to get back to basics in our economy. We are borrowing too much. We are consuming more than we can afford.
The European debt crisis and a number of other traps could snag the recovery, he said.
We think its better at this point to be more cautious, given the risks that are out there, Schrock said.
Reach Joe Hanel at [email protected].
