Economy expected to grow slow and steady in 2012.

• Author: Peterson, Eric
• Position: ASSOCIATION FOR CORPORATE GROWTH SPECIAL SECTION

Doomsday might just have to wait. The Mayan calendar might end on Dec. 21, 2012, but most astute observers believe the coming year will bring Colorado's economy more of the same sluggish growth it experienced in 2011.

For one, Patricia Silverstein, president of Littleton-based Development Research Partners and chief consulting economist to the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. and the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, is neither bullish nor bearish on the state's economic prospects for 2012.

"In general, our expectations are that 2012 is going to be similar to what we saw in 2011," she says. In other words, expect economic growth in the lackluster ballpark of 1 percent.

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Why can't the economy get out of first gear? "There's a lot of uncertainty as of yet," Silverstein says. Despite more traction nationally, the specter of a eurozone collapse haunts markets worldwide, she says. "This is a really challenging time to be forecasting economic activity. It could tip either way."

Colorado trades less with Europe than most other states, but that doesn't make it immune to the Greek flu. "Colorado is very open to what is happening there because the U.S. is open to what is happening there," Silverstein says. "We are operating in a global economy."

Silverstein projects Colorado's unemployment will remain high in 2012 but lower than the national rate. Standout sectors include health care, education, manufacturing and cleantech. "Health care has been amazing," says Silverstein, citing demographics and medical tourism as drivers. "It has continued to grow for the last decade in spite of two recessionary periods."

While manufacturing has exceeded Silverstein's expectations, cleantech has been the shining star of the Colorado economy for the past two years. It was the only sector with positive employment growth in 2010, according to studies Silverstein conducted for the Denver EDC.

"The growth has been pretty phenomenal," she says. Despite heavy competition from other states and countries, "We still maintain a competitive edge here in Colorado - but we need to be vigilant because this is an industry everybody wants."

Also trending up is professional and business services, a good indicator of broader growth. "That tends to mean growth is happening in the overall economy," Silverstein says.

Lagging sectors include government and construction, but Silverstein notes that multifamily residential construction has shown sighs of life...