IHS Examines Colorado in Swing State Economic Report

As part of its ongoing series on economic issues in this year's election swing states, ""IHS Global Insight"":http://www.ihs.com/ released a report on the Centennial State: Colorado.

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The report revealed that addressing housing and the economy in the state may not be the best tack for either major party candidate to take, as Coloradans have relatively little to worry about on both counts.

While job growth in the state has been unsteady so far in 2012, the trend still seems to be generally positive, IHS' US Regional Economic Group reported. Manufacturers, particularly those in the durable goods sector, have been adding jobs steadily, and the wholesale, retail, and healthcare sectors are all seeing expansion in hiring.

In addition, public sector jobs in Colorado are faring better than most other states, especially at the state and local government levels. Many of these jobs are in public school education, where employment is holding steady enough to keep job growth in the state from dragging.

Most of the state's economic problems actually stem from the severe wildfires that have raged across the West for most of the summer.

""The unusually severe wildfire season has been disruptive to certain sectors, especially the outdoor recreation industry. The state's unemployment rate sneaked back above 8 percent recently, partly because of gains in the reported labor force,"" IHS said.

Payrolls are expected to expand 1.8 percent for the year, an increase from 1.5 percent growth in 2011. Manufacturing of durable goods is providing a large share of current job growth, and a rebound in the construction sector is creating more high-paying jobs.

Colorado's housing market remains relatively healthy, with loans in foreclosure making up only 1.9 percent of total loans for the year's second quarter (compared to the national average of 4.3 percent). The state also ranked near the bottom for prime loans in foreclosure (1.2 percent of total loans) and subprime loans in foreclosure (6.2 percent of total loans, less than half of the national average).

The Centennial State's market has been in recovery since mid-2011 and had much less progress to make than most other states, having been mostly missed by the housing price boom and bust. IHS said the state's variable weather and less affordable land kept it from experiencing the same bubble that hurt other states.

Both President Obama and Mitt Romney are quiet on housing-specific issues for Colorado, instead focusing on the harder-hit state of Nevada.

A ""recent poll"":http://www.denverpost.com/nationalpolitics/ci_21553979/colorado-presidential-election-poll-shows-obama-romney-tied from the Denver Post has both major party candidates tied within the margin of error, making the first scheduled presidential debate - set in Denver - all the more important.