Mountain West leads economic growth Colorado is among six mountain states in the 10 fastest-growing economies in the U.S. Idaho and Utah are the faste

BYLINE: Aldo Svaldi Denver Post Staff Writer

Economic opportunities are increasingly coming at altitude.

Six of the nation's 10 fastest-growing state economies last year were located in the Mountain West, including Colorado's, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Idaho and Utah were the fastest growers, experiencing inflation-adjusted economic-growth rates above 7 percent, more than double the U.S. average of 3.4 percent.

"The Rocky Mountain region has been leading the nation for about three years in overall performance," said Jeff Thredgold, an economist with Vectra Bank Colorado.

Strong economic growth is translating into respectable job gains, falling unemployment and rising wages in the region.

Unemployment rates range from a high of 4 percent as of April in Arizona to a low of 2.2 percent in Montana.

Rising global demand for copper, uranium, coal, oil and gas has benefited commodity producers in the region, especially Montana and Wyoming.

Stronger manufacturing output, especially for technical equipment, has boosted Idaho, and a rebound in the information sector has helped Utah and Colorado.

"Colorado is not as strong as its neighbors, but it is moving up," Thredgold said.

Colorado's economy managed to grow 4.9 percent last year, absent increases in construction, historically an important source of growth in the state.

"When you can have the eighth-strongest rate of GDP growth without your strongest driver, that speaks well of economic diversification," Thredgold said.

With construction sidelined and lower energy prices causing smaller gains from the mining sector, two moribund sectors stepped forward last year.

In Colorado, about a fifth of the economic gains came in the information sector, which has been struggling ever since the technology meltdown at the beginning of the decade.

Nearly a third of the gains in economic activity last year in Idaho came from durable-goods manufacturing, which includes items such as technology components.

Strong commodity prices combined with a continued rebound in technology and telecommunications would spell an ideal environment for Colorado and surrounding states.

The economy is so good in Utah and Idaho that businesses in the region will increasingly need to depend on in-migration to avoid labor shortages.

"We have a constant population growth, and that helps drive our economic growth," said Dawn McLaren, a research economist with Arizona State University in Tempe.

McLaren, however, urges caution. Tight unemployment rates are driving up wages, which will make the Mountain states less attractive over time.

"We need to be careful because at a certain point we will make it too expensive here," she said.

Construction, an important source of growth in Arizona and Utah, has faded for several months now, said Ed Kashmarek, an economist with Wells Fargo in Minneapolis.

Wells Fargo doesn't predict a recession, but the Mountain West would fare better should the rest of the country continue to slow, Kashmarek said.

Staff writer Aldo Svaldi can be reached at 303-954-1410 or asvaldi@denverpost.com