The recession that started in 2007 has hit the Pikes Peak region especially hard.Compared with past recessions, job losses have been unprecedented, said Mike Kazmierski, head of the Colorado Springs Regional Economic Development Corp.The area has been losing an average of 1,900 primary jobs (employment with companies that bring money into the local economy) a year, he said.The loss of these jobs spawns a multiplier effect.The area’s 36,000 primary jobs create an additional 60,000 jobs, Kazmierski said.In Colorado Springs, Atmel Corp., which makes chips used in products throughout the world, is a good example of a primary employer.When people buy products like a touch screen, home appliance, computer peripheral or a light-emitting diode fixture that contains an Atmel chip; employees at Atmel are stable and secure in their job. The Atmel employees pay rent or purchase a house; shop; hire service people, etc. It’s a trickle-down effect that keeps the community thriving.Kazmierski said just a 10 percent increase in purchases of local goods in a community the size of Colorado Springs could add 1,500 new jobs and millions of dollars to the economy.”A lot of our individual [purchase] decisions are made out of habit,” he said. “If someone local can provide this same service or need at the same approximate price [as an out-of-state vendor], you’re helping your neighbors and each other.”The 90 percent of people who have jobs might not understand the challenges of being unemployed in today’s market, Kazmierski said.The good news is that this year’s job losses were fairly light compared to previous years, and new jobs are starting to appear, he said.In late October, the EDC announced 450 new jobs for the area.”Many of those jobs will be filled before the holidays, so (it will be) great holidays for those people,” he said.While many consider the mountains and weather as the area’s greatest assets, it’s the people, Kazmierski said.”It’s very expensive to move an employee, so when it comes to promoting our community, our greatest asset is the quality of our work force,” he said.With 20 percent of its leads coming from California, the EDC’s focus on that area has paid off.The EDC also works with site-selection consultants – specialists who find the best places for a business to relocate.Ten site-selection consultants visited the Colorado Springs area in September. Of those, seven had clients who were actively pursuing relocation, he said.Kazmierski said the EDC strongly encourages companies to visit Colorado Springs because 70 percent of companies that do ultimately move here.”As we look at our pipeline, we feel strongly that we’ll be making more smaller job announcements in the next 90 to 120 days,” he said.The local real estate market is sending signals, too.El Paso County Public Trustee Tom Mowle keeps track of deed releases – documents that show someone has paid off a mortgage loan by refinancing or selling a property.Starting in July, the number of deed releases has been going up every month. “This is good news for the local housing economy,” Mowle said.The data on foreclosures is not as clear.After trending down most of this year, foreclosure starts have been going up for several months, but third-quarter figures show that foreclosures are down east of Powers Boulevard, he said.According to the EPC Public Trustee Web site, in Falcon’s 80831 ZIP code, 200 homes entered foreclosure in the first 10 months of 2010, compared with 289 for the same period in 2009.The recent increase in foreclosures is scattered throughout the county, often in areas that have had few foreclosures, Mowle said. In those areas, it doesn’t take too many foreclosures to see a large percentage increase.”We may be starting to see a last gasp of foreclosures, as interest-only loans made in 2004 and 2005 begin to reset,” he said.Nicola Sapp, El Paso County’s budget director, had good news for county commissioners.At the beginning of November, she reported that sales tax revenue was up 4.47 percent in July 2010 compared with the previous July.The use tax on automobiles showed a similar increase of 6.87 percent in September 2010 compared with September 2009.Although the trend is up for most sources of county revenue, Sapp said current revenue levels are similar to 2005 and still down 3.45 percent from the peak in 2007.
