Final ColoradoCast of 2024 shows sustained economic performance

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The latest economic forecast from the Colorado Futures Center at Colorado State University shows sustained economic performance and the economy normalizing to historical trend growth rates of close to 4%. 

“This update shows the state economy continuing to build upon the strength emerging with the third quarter forecast and represents the strongest performance of the model, both with respect to forecasting accuracy and sustained economic performance since the early ColoradoCast releases in the immediate post-pandemic quarters,” said Phyllis Resnick, the executive director and lead economist for the Colorado Futures Center. 

The fourth quarter ColoradoCast shows the state’s economy weathering the slight labor market softening from last summer, as well as continued uncertainties while benefiting from the strong performance of national equity and bond market indicators. 

Compared to the previous forecast, all drivers remain positive or neutral, with only housing prices experiencing a change. In this current model, housing is again a neutral, rather than a positive driver. Similar to the third quarter ColoradoCast, the state’s economy continues to be largely driven by national indicators. 

It’s worth mentioning that this ColoradoCast update incorporates data through the end of October 2024, meaning that it continues to reflect the political uncertainty associated with the election. The upcoming late February 2025 ColoradoCast will be the first forecast to incorporate the resolution of election uncertainty.

The current report is available on the ColoradoCast page of the Colorado Futures Center website.