Economic Dashboard March 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

March 2018

 

Summary
Improved (+)	10
No Change (o)	2
Declined (-)	7
Improved (Declined)	3
	Current	Last Month	Last Year	Change (vs Last Year)
Workforce
Labor Force	31,381	31,411	30,750	+
Unemployment Rate (%)	3.0	3.3	2.2	–
Labor Force Participation (%)	56.0	56.1	55.4	o
Job Openings	881	975	1,807	–
8
Construction & Housing
New Permits (to Date)	52	33	33	+
Value of Permits ($,000) (to Date)	18,655	10,836	12,002	+
Home Sales	148	91	158	–
Average Home Price ($)	476,352	467,440	415,063	+
Earnings Needed* ($)	82,900	80,300	69,600	–
8
Travel & Tourism
Enplanements	15,201	12,588	15,901	–
Lodgers Tax ($)	42,056	34,185	38,893	+
Train Visitors	4,676	1,856	4,397	+
8
Gas & Oil
New Permits (to date)	47	35	2	+
Production (mmcf)	23,010	22,887	23,940	–
8
Other
Sales Tax, Durango ($,000)**	1,046	1,142	1,068	–
Commercial Sales ($,000) (to date)	11,673	10,284	3,950	+
Foreclosures (to date)	16	10	19	+
Energy Use
Commercial (mwh)	56,074	53,890	52,718	+
Commercial Accounts	6,415	6,401	6,368	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)