As we go on 21 months of economic unrest since the start of the coronavirus, Colorado’s economy is looking less competitive relative to other struggling states.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise on the heels of new state and local regulatory burdens heaped on employers. From a costly family-leave mandate imposed through the ballot; to minimum-wage hikes decreed in the state’s largest city; to the regulatory assault on a cornerstone of the state’s economy, the oil and gas industry – dubious policies are burdening the state’s job creators and scaring off others.

This week, the Gazette reported the Metro Denver Economic Development Council’s latest study is a mixed bag. The report’s 30 core economic indicators show although Colorado achieved a top-10 ranking for 14 of the 30 indicators, the state’s rank relative to the other states declined in just as many indicators this year compared to the prior year.

We continue to be “well-educated” – ranking second for “most educated population” and third place for having a high concentration of high-tech workers. But we also have seen our state rank for employment growth drop from sixth nationally to 17th, as the state is down 134,000 jobs.

Small-business drive also is dissipating, with our rank for “early-stage entrepreneurship” falling from 10th to 22nd. And in terms of spending on research and development, we’ve lagged to the back of the pack in the past two years, to 26th, after ranking top-10 previously.

Raymond Gonzales, president of the council, was blunt, stating though “talent and lifestyle” are the state’s selling points and areas of excellence to attract companies, our business-friendliness is struggling overall. The council further cited how Colorado this fall dropped from 11th most business-friendly state to 29 in just one cycle of CNBC’s Top States for Business Rating. The council said the decline “is in large part due to our policy environment.”

J.J. Ament, president and CEO of the Denver Chamber, is warning he’s hearing from executives and site selectors worried about the increasing cost and regulatory burden of doing business here. The upshot: Yes, the business world supported efforts to address the pandemic. But policymakers at all levels of government need to pull back promptly after making the recovery for small businesses slow and hard.

Colorado Springs Gazette editorial board