Colorado business leaders more confident heading into Q2

BOULDER — Colorado business leaders are expressing more confidence in the overall economy heading into the second quarter of 2019 than they have in the recent past, according to the recently released latest Leeds Business Confidence Index from the University of Colorado Boulder Leeds School of Business.

The index, compiled quarterly by the Leeds Business Research Division, surveys confidence in six areas: state and national economies, industry sales, profits, hiring plans and business investment.

The index is measured on a scale from 0 to 100, with 50 serving as the threshold between feeling confident and feeling unconfident.

Each of the six indicators ticked up for the second quarter of 2019, and the overall index score was 52.7, up from 50.1 in the previous period.

Business leaders felt confident — recording a score of 50 or higher — in all of the indicators, with the exception of the national economy.

The CU report that accompanied the index cites “paused interest rate increases, lower stock market volatility, and the end of the government shutdown,” as primary drivers for increased confidence.

The national economy continues to give business leaders pause, citing “national and state politics, trade, and uncertainty” as factors in their lack of confidence.

“The latest LBCI reflects what we’re seeing across the Colorado economy,” Richard Wobbekind, executive director of the Leeds Business Research Division, said in a prepared statement. “The state is seeing continued, steady growth in 2019 across measures like employment, personal income and macroeconomic factors, but there is still hesitation because of uncertainty at the national level.”

While the overall index was up over the previous quarter, the figure is down significantly year-over-year. In the second quarter of 2018, the index was 8.6 points higher than the current measure.