Amanda Luciano

Dec 6, 2023 | csbj.com | Amanda Luciano

Hiring and retaining nurses and other health care workers has become moderately less challenging than during the height of the COVID pandemic and years immediately following, but it’s unlikely hospitals and other providers will be fully staffed anytime in the foreseeable future, say area hiring experts. Nationally, health care hiring led labor force growth, and health care wage increases outpaced those in other fields, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Nov 20, 2023 | csbj.com | Amanda Luciano

There are just a few weeks left before the end of the year, which means it’s time for small business owners to get their books together and start talking with their accountants about what they need to do to save on their tax bills. There are not a lot of new tax laws on the books for 2023, local accountants say, but there are some new complications at the state level — and at least one big tax savings opportunity that started in 2022 — that some small business owners may not know about.

Nov 6, 2023 | csbj.com | Amanda Luciano

On Nov. 19, it will be one year since a gunman opened fire inside LGBTQ-friendly Club Q, killing five people and injuring 17 others. The hate crime paints a picture of Colorado Springs as a less accepting place, though some LGBTQ business owners say they don’t view it that way. But the city also lacks an abundance of loud and proud LGBTQ businesses or a publicly visible network of queer business owners that many cities do cultivate.

Oct 25, 2023 | csbj.com | Amanda Luciano

Nationally, the manufacturing economy has two divergent headlines these days. There are striking autoworkers and a 10-month streak of manufacturing output declines. On the other hand, there is record foreign investment in new semiconductor and clean-tech manufacturing facilities. Colorado Springs, which has historically not counted manufacturing as one of its major industries, is benefiting from the latter trend.

Oct 10, 2023 | csbj.com | Amanda Luciano |Helen Lewis

Will it be candy? Will it be coal? Across the nation, retailers aren’t sure what to expect from customers this holiday season. Inflation has cooled, some supply issues have eased and the economy’s expanding — but consumers are still hurting from recent rollercoaster years, and that spells uncertainty for the all-important spending season ahead. Colorado Springs retailers are also wishing for a clearer picture.