A few highlights include:
- Brookings introduced the Metro Recovery Index to track the impact of the COVID-19 recession on the 53 largest metro areas based on indicators including job losses and unemployment, air passengers, and active real estate listings. The inaugural index studied indicators from February 2020 to the present to calculate the effects of the pandemic, and found that Denver ranked 18th for least amount of job losses, 19th for percentage point change in unemployment rate, 13th for over-the-year losses in airport passengers, and 11th for over-the-year active real estate listing declines. Brookings plans to update the index monthly or as providers release new and relevant data.
- Metro Denver ranked third on RCLCO’s annual STEM Job Growth Index (“STEMdex”). The index ranked the 38 largest metro areas on indicators including job growth, migration of young households, quality of life, and favorable cost of doing business. Denver ranked No. 5 on the 2019 index and No. 8 on the 2018 index.