Metro North Sees Population and Wage Growth

People are making more and saving less in the north metro area. That was a key message shared at our Metro North Economic Forecast event, presented in collaboration with the Metro North Chamber of Commerce.

Economist Dr. Richard Wobbekind discussed how the strong stock and housing market may be the cause of a slide back to lower savings rates, once at 7 percent after the recession, now back to pre-recession rates of 2.9 percent.

"We got hit with a baseball bat, but I guess it wasn't hard enough," Wobbekind said. He added that because interest rates are still low and monthly income to service debt is at attractive levels, people are taking on more debt because they can afford to service that debt.

He warned attendees about the risks associated with relying on low interest rates to overspend, especially as the Federal Reserve has committed to raising short-term interest rates and is reducing its balance sheet to the tune of $20 billion a month. Inflation has also come into focus over the past several months, increasing a half percent in a month and a little over 2 percent year-over-year. Those are increases to watch.

Wobbekind encouraged attendees to watch these economic shifts closely, along with home prices and unemployment numbers. If housing remains high, the slowing state in-migration could leave businesses unable to hire talent. Businesses will need to ensure wages are high enough so employees can afford to live where they work. Lucky for the North Metro Denver area, housing remains more affordable, with jobs available.

Looking even farther into the distance, futurist expert Thomas Frey  soberly reminded attendees that all industries will eventually end. In fact, he predicted that by 2030 over 2 billion jobs will disappear, but he quickly ensured attendees that just because our jobs disappear doesn't mean we run out of work to do. Most of the next generation jobs will come from future micro industries.

Here are a few of his top predictions of future industries to watch:

• The sensor movement. The first iPhone® had five sensors; today there are 20. By 2022, we'll see the first trillion sensors being used in products, which will lead to many jobs.
• The "Internet of Things." Smart jeans are being designed with GPS and smart hairbrushes will tell consumers when their hair is dry and offer products.
• Crypto currencies like Bitcoin.
• Flying drones.
• Smart search engines. All-encompassing search engines will allow you to learn things like which dog has rabies or which intersection is most dangerous. This will be commonplace by 2028.
• Driverless technology. The most disruptive technology in all of history; there will be over $500 billion lost in the healthcare industry by the elimination of auto accidents alone.
• 3D printing. These printers will be equipped to work with 10,000 different materials by 2025.
• Teacherless education. By 2030 the largest company will be the one that drives the future of internet education.

All of these industry changes will require people to reboot their career eight to ten times by 2030.

In attendance at this year's northern event were students from Mountain Range High School's High School of Business, who attended the event as volunteers. Also, as part of the event, Vectra Bank announced a donation of $1,500 to the Adams County Sheriff's Foundation in honor of fallen Sheriff's Deputy Heath Gumm.

Celebrating small business achievement and business leaders at its conferences, Vectra Bank announced a $5,000 donation to the Women's Bean Project, which believes all women have the power to transform their lives through employment.

"Companies from throughout the U.S. are increasingly looking to Metro Denver for expansions, relocations, and capital investments," said J.J. Ament, CEO of Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation. "The Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. and all of our private sector leadership are working collaboratively throughout the region to protect and invest in what has made us such an attractive destination: transportation infrastructure, education, and housing to be specific."

Speaker presentations and individual speaker interviews can be found here.

If you need more information about banking in Colorado; please contact your local Vectra Bank.