Delta County Employment and Income

The following statistics indicate the annual average wages and employment covered by unemployment insurance, representing what are typically considered traditional jobs. These "jobs" do not include agriculture jobs, railroad workers, some religious workers, military employment, private household employment, self-employment, sole proprietors and any other jobs not covered by unemployment insurance.

Average Employment and Wages by Sector
Sector	Average Quarterly Employment		Average Annual Wages
	State	Delta County	State	Delta County
Agriculture, Forest, Fish, Hunt	13,449	361	$23,400	$17,472
Mining	13,640	D	$74,516	D
Utilities	7,804	74	$65,364	$42,900
Construction	150,261	436	$42,796	$21,996
Manufacturing	154,096	496	$52,312	$28,600
Wholesale Trade	92,250	263	$57,252	$25,116
Retail Trade	247,411	1080	$25,324	$18,876
Transportation & Warehousing	61,335	83	$38,844	$27,092
Information	61,335	83	$64,272	$22,360
Finance & Insurance	103,864	245	$59,748	$32,032
Real Estate, Rental & Leasing	45,855	66	$38,688	$32,032
Professional & Tech. Services	140,633	209	$69,004	$21,840
Management of Companies	20,628	D	$75,712	D
Administrative & Waste Services	128,666	327	$29,328	$21,476
Educational Services	22,865	D	$30,940	D
Healthcare & Social Assistance	190,011	758	$39,884	$20,852
Arts, Entertainment & Recreation	37,094	D	$31,408	$235,352*
Accommodations & Food Services	202,239	650	$14,404	$9,100
Other Services	65,165	162	$27,924	$20,800
Non-classifiable	186	0	$54,808	0
Government	341,174	2,153	$39,884	$29,796
Private	1,781,645	5,363	$40,924	$23,296
Total All Industries	3,904,263	8,328	$45,306	$15,418

Note: "D" indicates suppressed data due to disclosure of confidential information. All industries are included in the total.

Delta County Labor Force Averages 1998 - 2003
	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
Labor Force	10,932	10,901	10,583	10,713	12,105	12,683
Number Employed	10,334	10,408	10,180	10,273	11,510	12,227
Unemployed	598	493	403	440	595	456
Unemployment Rate	5.5%	4.5%	3.8%	4.1%	4.9%	3.6%

Top 15 Employers in Delta County (in Alphabetical Order)
Name	Industry	Number of Employees
Bowie Resources, Ltd.	Coal Mining	225*
Chaco Sandals, Inc.	Shoe Manufacturer	115
City Market, Inc.	Grocer	200
City of Delta	Government	185
County of Delta	Government	225
Del Mesa Farms	Poultry Producer	85
Delta Correctional Facility	Correctional Facility	120
Delta County Memorial Hospital	Hospital and Trauma Center	364
Delta County School District	School System	894
Hansen WeatherPort	Portable Structure Manufacturer	310
Meadow Gold Dairy Products	Dairy Product Distribution	58
Red Hat Produce, Inc.	Produce Distributor	60
SOS Staffing Services	Temporary Labor	300
U.S. Forest Service	Government	80
West Elk Mines	Coal Mining	315*

Note: These mines are located in Gunnison County, which borders the Eastern boundary of Delta County.

Economic Incentives

Several financing alternatives and assistance are available for businesses seeking to expand or relocate to Delta County. Delta Area Development, Inc. will work with businesses to locate sources of funding within the state and local financial assistance programs.

Federal Incentives

Delta County has been designated a "HUBZone" by the U.S. Small Business Administration. The HUBZone Empowerment Contracting Program is a "place-based" federal contracting program serving new market communities with low income or high unemployment.

The federal government purchases about $200 billion work of goods and services annually, and 3% of the total value of all prime contracts will be allocated to businesses located in a HUBZone. The HUBZone program provides both federal prime and subcontract benefits.

The goal of the program is to bring job opportunities and capital investment to underutilized areas, and serves as a vital tool to build sustainable communities and promote long-term economic development and growth.

State Incentives

The Colorado Economic Development Commission (EDC) receives an annual General Fund appropriation. It is used in incentive packages to support economic development projects throughout the state, to support business expansions and relocations, and for relocation projects that have the potential to generate new jobs.

The Delta County Enterprise Zone was established in 1986, and as of January 1, 2003, Delta County was designated as and Enhanced Rural Enterprise Zone, allowing for additional tax benefits over what may be available in other parts of Colorado. The program provides incentives for private enterprise to expand and for new businesses to relocate.

Some of the tax benefits include:

• a 3% investment tax credit
• a $2,500 per job tax credit in connection with a "new business facility" ¹
• double job tax credit for agricultural processing
• $200 job tax credit for employer-sponsored health insurance
• 10% job training credit
• 3% research and development tax credit
• Exemption from state sales and use tax for manufacturing and mining equipment
• Credit to rehabilitate vacant buildings (up to $50,000 - special conditions apply)
• 25% credit for contributions to local enterprise zone projects (up to $100,000)
• local government tax incentives

¹An expansion of an existing business facility may be considered a "new business facility" if the expansion adds at least 10 employees, if the expansion adds at least 10 employees or a 10% increase over the previous annual average, if the expansion is at least $1 million in investment, or, if less, at least doubles the original investment in the facility. Excess credits may be carried forward five years.

The Colorado FIRST/Existing Industries Program assists primary industry employers with short term, fast track training. The program is designed for companies who are relocating to Colorado or are undertaking a major expansion. Grants are usually funded based on the number of jobs and quality of jobs created.

Local Incentives

The County of Delta has a program for Real and Personal Property tax rebates. These may be negotiated by the County Administrator with qualifying new business facilities and expanding business facilities that create a positive economic impact on the county's economy. These property tax rebates may be available to any qualifying new or expanding "basic" industry creating primary jobs, importing dollars into the community, and meeting certain criteria or exclusions.

The City of Delta offers a Business and Use Tax Credit Program. The City offers a potential refund on the use of tax paid on capitol expenditures for business that meet certain City criteria.

Delta Area Development, Inc. provides many services to businesses by serving as a one-stop center for business seeking to expand or relocate to the area. DADI serves as an advocate for business, provides market, economic, demographic, labor force, utility and tax information on Delta County.

Delta Area Development, Inc. also financially assists expanding or relocating companies utilizing a soon-to-be-adopted matrix.

The incentive dollars that are allocated to a business depend upon the following criteria:

• Number of new jobs to be created
• Wage per hour (including benefits) to be paid to each employee
• Capitol investment by the company

Incentives may vary from $100 to $5,000 per employee, and may be negotiated to be paid on an incremental basis over an agreed upon period of time.

The City of Delta is also adopting a matrix program to utilize for businesses locating within a City of Delta Business/Industrial Park. There are 3 business/industrial parks in the process of being developed, and the City of Delta would like to encourage companies to locate to these areas. The criteria for incentive dollars are the same as those listed above, and may vary from $500 to $5,000 per employee.

The Small Business Development Center offers training and free consulting to small business owners. SBDC offers services tailored to a company's needs utilizing current resources such as databases, handbooks and outside consultants in a variety of specialized areas companies may require. SBDC coordinates public and private networks throughout the State to provide companies with information and solutions to financial management, administrative, personal, marketing, and other related questions.

Financing

Region 10 League for Economic Assistance and Planning administers six revolving loan funds: Energy Revolving Loan Fund, Revolving Loan Fund, Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Loan Program (in cooperation with the State of Colorado Office of Economic Development), Operation Enterprise Loan, Small Business Administration Micro-Loan Program, and the Community Development Loan Program.

SBA and Special Financing Programs. The Small Business Administration offers long-term, low cost, low interest loans to Colorado's small businesses. They also provide loans for land, buildings, equipment and machinery through the 504 program.

Training

The Delta-Montrose Workforce Center (a division of the Colorado Workforce Centers) administers and provides a menu of employment services in "one-stop" centers to the citizens and employers. They provide integrated employment and training services that meet the needs of both job seekers and employers.

The Delta-Montrose Vocational-Technical Center serves the needs of the business community by providing high quality education and training. There are State-funded training grants available to provide money to Colorado companies who are training new employees or retraining workers in new job skills.

Delta County - A great place to do business… a wonderful place to live!

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