Colorado continued to see a growing job force in the third quarter, according to a report released Tuesday by the Leeds Business Research Division at the University of Colorado Boulder and Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold.

Colorado’s employment in September increased by 4.1% year over year, the 16th best percentage increase in the nation. The most significant increases were in leisure hospitality, professional and business services and other services. Lower-paying industries saw the largest gain in wage growth.

The per capita personal income in Colorado of $73,357 ranked eighth nationally and per capita personal income growth ranked first nationally at 6%.

New entity filings increased by 14.5% compared with the same period last year and 10.6% since last quarter, despite the trend normally seeing a decrease during the transition from the second quarter to the third. Delinquencies and dissolutions, though, also saw growth year over year by 27.1%, which indicates that businesses are struggling. There were 11,614 dissolutions, fewer than the previous quarter.

Despite job growth and per capita personal income reports, the Leeds Business Confidence Index stood at 39.8, which indicates a bear market.

Inflation remains a concern, though it appears to be less severe than nationwide; the Consumer Price Index in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood region increased 7.7% year over year in September, less than the national growth of 8.2%.

People are gaining debt and lowering their contribution to their own savings in order to maintain their lifestyle, according to Brian Lewandowski, who is with the Leeds Business Research Division.

“I don’t think anyone has been able to really hide away from the current inflationary environment and most of us haven’t really experienced this in our lifetime,” he said in a virtual news conference.

“So the way we see people coping with it is we’re seeing a decrease in the personal savings rate and we’re seeing higher borrowing rates (in national data).”

Retail gasoline prices increased slightly in October compared to last year, but are down since June. There are now 22 active oil rigs in Colorado, which is twice as many as the previous October.

“Overall, today’s report indicates a bright future for Colorado’s economy,” Griswold said.