Colorado loses jobs as nearly 100 companies exit, business leaders demand change

By Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado

Colorado is losing businesses and jobs at an alarming rate.

Now, the ones who’ve stuck around are calling on state leaders to make changes before things get even worse.

The Colorado Chamber of Commerce has been sounding an alarm for years about excessive regulation and, last year, more people moved out of Colorado than into the state.

The chamber says companies are also relocating out-of-state. It released data showing, since 2019, 98 companies have either left the state, expanded elsewhere, or scrapped plans to move here.

That’s resulted in more than 13,000 lost jobs.

Since 2022, Colorado has also had a net loss of 34 public company headquarters. Some of the states seeing gains from Colorado’s losses included Texas, California and North Carolina.

More than 200 business and civic leaders signed a letter to Gov. Jared Polis, Sen. John Hickenlooper, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, and Democratic gubernatorial candidates Michael Bennet and Phil Weiser. It warns of dire consequences if Colorado doesn’t become a more welcoming place for job creators.

READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO