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THE CITY RANKS IN AT 24, ON THE LIST OF THE FORTY STRONGEST METRO ECONOMIES, THAT'S ACCORDING TO BUSINESS WEEK, THE RANKING IS BASED ON SEVERAL FACTORS, LIKE EMPLOYMENT AND THE HOUSING MARKET, KKTV 11 NEWS RICK MONTANEZ IS LIVE IN COLORADO SPRINGS TO BREAK THIS ALL DOWN FOR US, RICK, COMMUNITY LEADERS ALSO MET TODAY FOR THE SOUTHERN COLORADO ECONOMIC FORUM, THEY DID DAVE, AND THE ECONOMIC FORUM PRESENTED THE SAME INFORMATION AS THE BUSINESS WEEK RANKINGS, COLORADO SPRINGS HASN'T BEEN AS EFFECTED BY THE RECESSION, AND MAY BE IN A GOOD SPOT FOR ECONOMIC RECOVERY, OUT OF THE 40 TOP METRO ECONOMIES IN THE COUNTRY, COLORADO SPRINGS COMES IN AT 24, FRED CROWLY, AN ECONOMIC SPECIALIST FROM UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AT COLORADO SPRINGS SAYS THE CITY'S EMPLOYMENT RATE WASN'T TOO BAD, AT LEAST IT WASN'T AS BAD AS THE REST OF THE COUNTRY. "WE ARE IN FACT EXPERIENCEING JOB GROWTH RIGHT NOW. HARD TO BELIEVE, I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE STILL UNEMPLOYED, BUT OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS THE EMPLOYMENT NUMBERS HAVE INCREASED. " ACCORDING TO NUMBERS IN THE SOUTHERN COLORADO ECONOMIC FORUM, PRESENTED BY UCCS, EL PASO COUNTY'S UNEMPLOYMENT FOR JULY WAS AT 7.3 PERCENT JUST A FEW POINTS SHY OF NATIONAL UNEMPLOYMENT FIGURES, ALSO KEEPING THE ECONOMY ABOVE WATER, THE FLAT HOUSING MARKET. "WE, PRETTY MUCH, DROPPED ONE OR TWO PERCENTAGE POINTS THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE HOUSING PROBLEM. THOUGH THIS YEAR, JANUARY THROUGH JUNE, THE LAST TIME WE MEASURED IT, ARE IN FACT UP 12-13 PERCENT. "IN WASHINGTON TODAY, THE WHITE HOUSE SAID THE HUGE ECONOMIC STIMULUS PLAN SAVED OR CREATED ABOUT 650 THOUSAND JOBS NATION-WIDE. WHICH IS ABOUT 8,094 JOBS IN COLOARDO. But Republican leaders point out, since the stimulus was passed America has lost about 3-million jobs, A number that continues to grow. CROWLY ALSO TELLS ME, ABOUT 100 THOUSAND JOBS ARE CREATED IN THE PIKES PEAK REGION, BASED ON THE MASSIVE MILITARY PRESENCE ALONE, DAVE AND MCK, A LOT OF NUMBERS PACKED INTO THIS STORY, SO WE'VE POSTED LINKS TO THE BUSINESS WEEK RANKINGS AND THE SOUTHERN COLORADO ECONOMIC FORUM PRESENTATION ON OUR WEB CHANNEL, KKTV DOT COM. |
