Though Colorado’s economy has been gradually improving since the COVID-19 pandemic brought it at all-time lows in March and April, that improvement might be slowing.

The Quarterly Business and Economic Indicators report by Secretary of State Jena Griswold and the University of Colorado Boulder found that Colorado’s economic gains seem to have stalled at the end of 2020.

“While we have seen improvement in our economy since last Spring, total recovery remains distant,” Griswold said. “Colorado’s economy continues to be tested.”

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In the fourth quarter of 2020, 34,630 new businesses, nonprofits and other entities filed with the Secretary of State’s Office, the report said. That is a 10.5% decrease from third quarter, but a 22.1% increase from the previous year.

In addition, more than 10,000 entities dissolved in the fourth quarter, an 18.7% increase from third quarter and an 8.1% increase from the same time last year.

Despite this, existing entity renewals remained stable at nearly 150,000 filings.

“The road ahead of us is likely a long one with respect to regaining our lost jobs,” said Richard Wobbekind, senior economist and faculty director at CU.

The report found that Colorado had the 26th lowest job growth and 48th lowest unemployment rate in the country in December. Colorado’s initial jobless claims also spiked in the fourth quarter of 2020, reaching the highest level since May.

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However, despite the setbacks from fourth quarter, experts are still looking forward to the near future. The report found that state business leaders feel neutral about the first quarter of 2021 and optimistic for the second quarter.

“With slow and steady gains, there is still reason for Coloradans to be optimistic that improvement will continue into 2021,” Griswold said.

The full report is available at colorado.edu.