Colorado Springs reached extraordinary achievements in business expansion and recruitment last year, and economic leaders plan to continue that momentum throughout 2024, despite predictions for a slowed economy.

The city has seen strong growth in employment, with payrolls almost 7% higher than they were before the pandemic, compared with 3% nationally, UCCS Economic Forum Program Director Bill Craighead told a full crowd of local residents, business and government leaders Wednesday evening at the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC’s annual State of the Chamber event. It serves as an annual report card on the organization’s job promotion and economic development successes.

Unemployment is also low in Colorado Springs at 3.6% as of November — slightly above the statewide unemployment rate of 3.3% and just below the national rate of 3.7%, according to data he provided from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Inflation is slowing, and wages are now increasing faster than prices, “which means that paychecks are gaining purchasing power,” Craighead said.

While 2023 managed to dodge recession predictions, the impact higher interest rates are having on the economy is still playing out, and economists predict slower growth in 2024. That could lead to “slight” increases in unemployment, Craighead said.

Despite those challenges, Chamber Board Chairman Tim Seibert said the new year is ripe “with opportunities to bring healthy growth” to the community through continued expansion of existing businesses, attracting new businesses to the area, and recruiting and retaining new employees.

Last year, Colorado Springs closed out nine economic development projects, many in the technology and defense sectors. They created more than 2,200 high-paying jobs and more than $1.3 billion in capital investment, Chamber President and CEO Johnna Reeder Kleymeyer said. 

Seibert said the organization is committed to continuing that growth in the new year.

“Economic prosperity is our No. 1 mission at the Chamber & EDC. Taking care of our companies is imperative to that mission,” he said.

One way the chamber is supporting local businesses and their employees is through its new multicultural access program, developed last year in partnership with the Colorado Springs Black and Hispanic chambers of commerce. It offers membership to multicultural chamber members into the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC at no additional cost, Reeder Kleymeyer said.

“We know there are barriers to information and resources, as well as advancement in leadership and access to capital, for women-owned businesses and for Black, Indigenous and people of color. … This is a way for us to bring people together by giving access and making resources available where, frankly, they weren’t always available,” she said.

The chamber’s first goal in 2024 is to hold 150 business retention and expansion visits with existing companies in the Pikes Peak region, Seibert said. The visits will allow chamber officials to assess issues the businesses may have and coordinate with the city, the Pikes Peak Workforce Center and other entities to solve any problems, keeping companies thriving and local to Colorado Springs, he said.

The chamber in 2023 also established its Titans of Economic Development campaign to advance economic development across the region. The program already has 71 members who make up the Titans of Economic Development Advisory Council, Reeder Kleymeyer said, and the program has raised $5 million to further the chamber’s economic efforts.

The Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC completed a comprehensive study last year to analyze what the city’s talent gaps were and how Colorado Springs could meet industry needs. The organization plans in 2024 to use that data to support the Titans council and close at least 12 projects, creating more than 1,300 additional jobs and at least $125 million in new capital investments, Seibert said.

To recruit and retain talent, the chamber also plans to grow its Hello Colorado Springs intern and young professionals program to 100 members.

The chamber’s success in these endeavors lies within the perception that business decision makers, media influencers and people ages 18-34 have of Colorado Springs and the region, Seibert said.

The Chamber & EDC recently completed a national perception study the organization will use to launch “a strategic and targeted branding and marketing campaign” for each type of business industry it wants to influence to come to or expand in Colorado Springs, he said.

Unemployment is low in Colorado Springs at 3.6% as of November — slightly above the statewide unemployment rate of 3.3% and just below the national rate of 3.7%

Parker Seibold, Gazette file