Blog Post

By: Juliette Tennert, M.S.

Yesterday, the Utah Economic Council released its 28^th annual Economic Report to the Governor. The report is a collaborative effort of the Council (who are convened by the David Eccles School of Business, the Salt Lake Chamber, and the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget) and a number of public and private sector experts.

The major theme that runs throughout the report is one of a Utah economy that exceeded expectations in 2015 and has “room to run” in 2016.  Utah led the nation in job growth 2015 with a significant gains in 10 of 11 major sectors, strong job growth and declining unemployment affected better-than-anticipated growth in wages, construction permitting reached an 8-year high, and low motor-fuel prices and increasing consumer confidence underpinned growth in retail sales.

The report anticipates solid economic growth in 2016, spurred on by low motor-fuel prices, strong consumer spending, demographic advantages, new construction, and an attractive business climate, but the forecast is not without risks. Geopolitical instability, the global slowdown, potential missteps in the normalization of monetary policy, labor supply issues, education warning signs around completion and alignment with demand for workers, and air quality will act as economic headwinds in 2016.

Major report highlights include:

• Technology – Utah lived up to the nickname of Silicon Slopes with impressive 7.7 percent growth in the information sector.
• Construction – Permit -authorized construction reached its highest level in eight years with major projects in downtown Salt Lake and at the nexus of Utah’s two largest counties.
• Leisure and hospitality – Utah’s leisure and hospitality industry added 7,900 jobs. Park City Mountain Resort’s expansion created the largest ski resort in the country. This, combined with Utah’s “Mighty Five” national parks, prompted Fodor’s Travel to name Utah the top travel destination of the year.
• Exports – Utah’s merchandise exports continued to diversify with 4 percent year-over growth in non-gold exports. Utah exports support over 50,000 jobs.
• Financial activities – Major employers like Goldman Sachs added a total of 2,600 jobs in the Financial Activities sector helping Utah earn the reputation as the “Wall Street of the West.”
• Income – Median household income is growing at a 2.6 percent rate in Utah, compared to one percent nationally

I invite you to review the 2016 report and its accompanying 100-plus page compendium to learn more.

Juliette Tennert is the director of economic and public policy research at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute.