job market? (Denver, Boulder: loan, house, to buy)

[campaignmanager]

My wife and I are looking to relocate from Michigan. Can anyone tell me what the job market is like out there? My wife has been in the housing/human services field and is working on a graduate degree. I work in public affairs/govt and have a graduate degree. We do OK here, but there is no opportunity for growth.

Thanks for any insights.

[ColoWeb]

"Good" was a common response I said many times. But now with the slowing of the economy I am getting a very different feeling now from the people I talk to. I am not saying that are bad but they are sure changing.

People I know started hearing the words like "cuts" and "streamlining" and "down-sizing." Each industry is different and I cannot comment on one. Also, the effected cuts are all across the board and not just in low/mid paying jobs.
We just had an aircraft company go out of business, few days ago the state pulled funding for building that broke-ground at my Former University, and the state announced they may abandon the plan that they had to hire several hundreds of jobs (Police, Teachers etc.). Al of the above, in addition to the second round of staff cuts for Frontier Airlines, puts more people looking for jobs and - as a result - affects the economy here.

To add to all this, a co-worker of mine (with a good paying job) who is looking forward to buy a house just informed me that our boss hinted that it may not be a good time to take out a loan. With some slowdowns at works, it worries me just as much as it worried my co-worker.

I would say that if this are stable, I would not make a move unless you are sure.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by campaignmanager

My wife and I are looking to relocate from Michigan. Can anyone tell me what the job market is like out there? My wife has been in the housing/human services field and is working on a graduate degree. I work in public affairs/govt and have a graduate degree. We do OK here, but there is no opportunity for growth.

Thanks for any insights.

What are you seeing on the job websites like and Monster? Are there jobs for you? How does compare to where you are now?

[Katarina Witt]

I agaree with Charles and would second what ColoWeb says. The lead article in today's Boulder newspaper was about the laying off of 85 employees, mostly teachers, in the St. Vrain Valley SD.
St. Vrain schools slash 85 jobs : Schools : Boulder Daily Camera (http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/mar/26/st-vrain-valley-school-district-cut-85-positions-p/ - broken link)
My DH is home today b/c all the employees at his company were required to take off 5 days this quarter, in some bookkeeping sleight-of-hand to make the bottom line look better to avoid layoffs. Unless you get offered a fantastic job, you are probably better off where you are for now. Sorry. And no, I'm not one of these "no-growth" people.

[formercalifornian]

From today's Rocky Mountain News...

"Telecom employees and architects with lackluster raises. Immigrants and inexperienced twenty-somethings moving to Colorado. Workers leaving large companies behind for startups. All of those may have contributed to income levels in Colorado last year rising at one of the weakest rates in the country. Colorado ranked 45th in the nation in 2007 as per capita income grew 3.9 percent, preliminary Bureau of Economic Analysis figures showed. That compared with a 5.2 percent gain for the entire United States."

For the entire article, click here.

[Interstate 35 South]

Campaignmanager-
Like you, I want to relocate to the Denver area. First, I have to ask - are you and your wife trying to land jobs before moving out there, or do you plan to move there first (and afterwards find employment)?

If you're trying the more sensible approach of landing a job before moving, networking should be your #1 approach to job hunting *IF* you know someone out there. If you don't know anyone out there, it is a real challenge to land a position before moving. Denver employers generally don't consider out-of-town candidates unless they're looking for a very specialized skill set they can't find locally. Browsing around these forums, you'll see that A LOT of people want to move there. In any desirable place like that (Denver included), there is stiff competition for jobs. The recessionary environment doesn't help either. Also, don't waste your time with monster and careerbuilder. I have yet to hear any response from the dozens of positions I've applied for, and I'm very much qualified for most of those positions. I know that my out-of-state address makes me look like I have three heads to employers.

If you're planning to move without a job lined up, by all means have several months of savings handy. Also, be prepared for the possibility that you might have to settle for less compensation than you expect and/or what you receive currently. I live in an area with a much lower cost of living, yet I'm finding the salaries are only slightly higher in the Denver area for my line of work. I suppose that's the price you pay for "desirable geography", right?

As for me, I was initially tempted to move to Denver without a job lined up, but I think that's a bad idea in this economy. I'm staying put for now, especially since I have a job here in KC. I'll just have to settle for taking two or three vacations to CO this summer, just like last year.

Anyway, just wanted to share my 2¢. Good luck!

[downtownnola]

The job market in Denver right now is challenging, but not impossible. I think our economy is in better shape than many areas of the country (Michigan's economy is obviously worse than Colorado's), but Colorado's not exactly a "hot" market right now, either.

One of the problems I've found in Denver is that in many cases, the salaries are not balanced with the cost of living. Jobs are competitive, and although I've never experienced it first hand, I've heard that it's difficult to get jobs from our of state.

If you really want to move here, stay persistent! If you keep your eyes open and jump on every opportunity you see, something will eventually fall into place. Another option you may want to look at is contacting a head hunter here in Denver- they can watch the market for you and notify you if anything comes along. Good luck!