Springs-area earnings lag behind state

Colorado Springs-area workers' earnings dropped less than many others in the country last year, but they failed to keep up with statewide gains, according to census figures released today.

The median earnings for area workers last year fell 2.5 percent from a year earlier to $28,392, while statewide median earnings during the same period edged up 1.4 percent to $30,476 and the nationwide median fell 2.9 percent to $27,804, Census Bureau figures show. The median is the midpoint of annual earnings of all residents in either the area, state or nation; half are lower and half are higher.

Median income declined last year in the area and nationwide as both economies slowed amid a worsening housing market downturn that spread to other industries; the state economy remained strong last year and only began to weaken earlier this year.

Unemployment began rising in the area and the nation early last year, and the jobless rate for both the area and nation reached 5 percent by year's end.

"Much of the drop in area incomes is due to the loss of so many manufacturing and technology jobs in recent years," said Fred Crowley, senior economist for the Southern Colorado Economic Forum. "Yet we have fared better than the rest of the nation because the national economy entered the current downturn much earlier than we did, although the state economy is faring better than either the area or the nation."

Median earnings for both men and women in the area dropped last year from the previous year as did income for families. Single area residents fared better with their incomes increasing slightly less than 1 percent during the same period. Retirees, who make up more than 20 percent of the area's population, were hit especially hard with the area's median retirement income last year declining 2.74 percent from the previous year.

The slumping economy also pushed more area residents into poverty e_SEmD the percentage of residents with incomes below the poverty line rose to 10 percent in 2007 from 9.1 percent in 2006 with the biggest growth among single mothers. Statewide the percentage of residents with incomes below the poverty line remained unchanged at 12 percent, while nationwide that percentage increased slightly to 13.3 percent.

The census data also showed a worsening local housing slump with the percentage of vacant housing units rising to 11.5 percent in 2007 from 9.4 percent a year earlier, mostly because the percentage of vacant single-family homes doubled to 3.2 percent during the period. Housing vacancy rates were up statewide to 12.6 percent in 2007 from 11.8 percent in 2006, but fell nationwide to 11.6 percent in 2007 from 12.1 percent in 2006.

A growing percentage of area residents also are stretching their incomes to make their mortgage payments, the census data show. The percentage of area residents spending 30 percent or more of their income on mortgage payments and related housing costs rose to 29.1 percent last year from 27.3 percent a year earlier.

-

Contact the writer: 636-0234 or wayneh@gazette.com

MORE DATA
 
• The foreign-born percentage of the U.S. population rose last year to a record 12.6 percent, and nearly 20 percent of the nation's population age 5 and over last year spoke a language other than English at home. One in five residents of Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas spoke Spanish at home last year

• The number of area grandparents living with their own grandchildren last year jumped 34.7 percent from a year earlier to 14,779 with the percentage of single grandmothers doing so more than doubling to 31.8 percent.