Confidence among Colorado business leaders has plunged, with one in five now saying the U.S. economy has already entered a recession and nearly three in five expecting the downturn to arrive sometime next year, according to the latest Leeds Business Confidence Index from the University of Colorado Boulder.
Economic expectations for the third quarter reached the fifth-lowest reading ever measured in two decades of business leader surveys and the outlook for the fourth quarter was even dourer, registering the fourth-lowest reading on record. Why does that matter? A darker business outlook will influence hiring and spending plans and it coincides with a sharp plunge in consumer confidence.
If both businesses and consumers are pulling back spending, a contraction may not be that far away. Colorado Cast, a short-term forecast of the state economy from Colorado State University, has the annual rate of economic growth falling to 1.8% in October, compared to 10% at the end of 2021.
