Overview
- CU’s Leeds School projects Colorado will add about 17,500 jobs in 2026, or 0.6% growth, after an estimated 12,500 added in 2025.
- Real GDP growth is forecast to accelerate to roughly 2.9% next year, and CU economists are not calling for a recession.
- Professional and business services are expected to contract for a third year, and information/tech employment is projected to edge lower again in 2026.
- Population gains remain muted as domestic migration has faded, with increases estimated at 33,200 in 2025 and 35,100 in 2026.
- Headwinds and tailwinds include an effective import tariff rate that jumped to 21% in 2025, tax cuts and lower interest rates providing support, and unemployment seen easing to about 4.1% next year.