Economic Dashboard February 2018

How is the economy right now in Durango and La Plata County?

Find out the latest on our employment, home construction, tourism, and other key measures of our local economic performance. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us and we can walk you through what the data means.

Local Economic Conditions

February 2018

 

Summary
Improved (+)	11
No Change (o)	2
Declined (-)	6
Improved (Declined)	5
	Current	Last Month	Last Year	Change (vs Last Year)
Workforce
Labor Force	31,411	31,426	30,804	+
Unemployment Rate (%)	3.4	3.1	3.1	–
Labor Force Participation (%)	56.1	56.2	55.6	o
Job Openings	975	939	1,422	–
8
Construction & Housing
New Permits (to Date)	33	19	15	+
Value of Permits ($,000) (to Date)	10,836	3,673	5,034	+
Home Sales	91	46	94	–
Average Home Price ($)	467,440	436,731	501,010	–
Earnings Needed* ($)	80,300	72,400	84,500	+
8
Travel & Tourism
Enplanements	12,588	13,563	13,114	–
Lodgers Tax ($)	34,185	61,413	31,496	+
Train Visitors	1,856	2,691	1,817	+
8
Gas & Oil
New Permits (to date)	35	33	2	+
Production (mmcf)	21,203	22,941	22,331	–
8
Other
Sales Tax, Durango ($,000)**	1,142	1,793	1,057	+
Commercial Sales ($,000) (to date)	10,284	4,743	920	+
Foreclosures (to date)	10	6	11	+
Energy Use
Commercial (mwh)	53,890	55,708	48,940	+
Commercial Accounts	6,401	6,396	6,359	o

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Notes:

*”Earnings needed” is the household income necessary to purchase an average-priced home in La Plata County.

**Sales tax for Durango includes Use Tax.

Sources: Employment: Colorado Department of Labor and US Census Construction & Housing: City of Durango, La Plata County, Mortgage-X.com, and the Wells Group  Travel & Tourism: City of Durango, Durango Area Tourism Organization (DATO), and Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad   Gas & Oil: Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission  Other: City of Durango (Sales tax and business permits), La Plata County Treasurers Office (Foreclosures),  and LPEA (Energy Use) (LPEA data is unaudited)