CU: Business confidence on the upswing in 2022

BOULDER — Colorado business leaders are expressing increasing optimism heading into the first quarter of 2022 and those positive vibes are even stronger looking ahead to the middle part of the year.

Still, ongoing stress about COVID-19, inflation, the supply chain and labor market remain, according to the University of Colorado Boulder Leeds Business Research division’s quarterly Business Confidence Index released Thursday. 

The quarterly report marks Colorado business leaders’ expectations for the state and national economies, industry sales, industry profits, hiring and business spending.

Overall, the index pinned business confidence at 58 ahead of the first quarter 2022, up 1.9 points from the previous quarter. A score of 50 is considered neutral and the index stood at a record low 29.7 in the first quarter of 2020 before hitting a record high of  67.3 in the third quarter of 2021.

The index rated confidence in the state economy at 57.6, national economy at 50.4, industry sales at 60.2, industry profits at 57.9, industry hiring at 63.7 and capital expenditures at 58.3.

Looking forward to the second quarter of 2022, the overall confidence index is 59.4.

The index was developed by analyzing 231 responses to a survey conducted between Dec. 1 and Dec. 20, 2021. 

Of the issues concerning Colorado’s business community, inflation appears to be the cause of quite a few gray hairs. 

Of those who participated in the survey, 92% said “inflation is already impacting their business and more than 68% expect wages to increase in response to higher inflation,” Rich Wobbekind, senior economist and faculty director of CU’s Business Research Division, said in a statement accompanying the index report. 

But “most expect inflation to moderate by late 2022 or early 2023,” he said. 

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