Latest Research
June 2019 Economic Summary
The Utah economy exceeded expectations in 2018, adding a total of 48,500 new jobs over the year. An annual employment growth rate of 3.3% is on par with the state’s long-term average and is among the strongest in the nation. A tightening labor market (3.1 percent unemployment) applied upward pressure on personal income. Annual income per capita increased to $45,174, a 3.9 percent increase from last year.
Salt Lake City Change Atlas 2019
This Salt Lake City Change Atlas, 2019 presents changes in the city’s population, housing units and related characteristics. Salt Lake City Corporation sponsored the research.
The Salt Lake Apartment Market: An Analysis of Apartment Rental Rates in the Greater Salt Lake Region
Strong demand for apartment units in the Wasatch Front has led to a rapid increase in rental rates. Since the Great Recession, the increase in average rent has outpaced income growth and inflation. Pent up demand coupled with a robust population increase has fueled the growth of the regions’ rental market. Traditionally, Salt Lake City, West Valley City, Murray, and other northern cities of Salt Lake County have held a majority of the apartment inventory. However, cites in southern Salt Lake County and northern Utah County are experiencing significant expansion. Renters are showing a preference for proximity to employment centers,[...]
State Budget Stress Testing: How Utah Budget-makers are Shifting the Focus from a Balanced Budget to Fiscal Sustainability
State budget stress tests help policymakers to plan for and create appropriate, measured responses to economic volatility. Utah is the first state to implement comprehensive budget stress testing, evaluating the sufficiency of reserves and other budget contingencies to cover recession-spurred revenue shortfalls and countercyclical cost hikes.
State Budget Stress Testing User Guide
This user guide is a supplemental piece to the Gardner Institute’s report “State Budget Stress Testing: How Utah Budget makers are Shifting the Focus from a Balanced Budget to Fiscal Sustainability.” It is intended to assist other states in preparing their own budget stress tests.
Ivory-Boyer Construction Report, 1st Quarter 2019
The total statewide value of permit authorized construction during the first quarter of 2019 is $2.0 billion. This value is within a few million dollars of an all-time first quarter high in 2018 (inflation adjusted). Nonresidential construction value is particularly strong with a total of $641 million, up 35 percent over 2018. The number and value of residential permits issued, however, are down from the strong first quarter of 2018. Nevertheless, first quarter 2019 is still the second highest year in residential value since 2006 and the second highest in residential permits since 2007.
May 2019 Economic Summary
The Utah economy exceeded expectations in 2018, adding a total of 48,500 new jobs over the year. An annual employment growth rate of 3.3% is on par with the state’s long-term average and is among the strongest in the nation. A tightening labor market (3.1 percent unemployment) applied upward pressure on personal income. Annual income per capita increased to $45,174, a 3.9 percent increase from last year.
April 2019 Economic Summary
The Utah economy exceeded expectations in 2018, adding a total of 48,500 new jobs over the year. An annual employment growth rate of 3.3% is on par with the state’s long-term average and is among the strongest in the nation. A tightening labor market (3.1 percent unemployment) applied upward pressure on personal income. Annual income per capita increased to $45,174, a 3.9 percent increase from last year.
Utah’s Increasing Diversity: Population Projections by Race/Ethnicity
Utah will continue to be a place of economic and educational opportunity, bringing new residents from domestic and international regions. We project Utah’s population will continue to grow and become more diverse along many dimensions, including ethnicity and race. The trend toward increasingly diverse schools and workplaces will continue. This future is an outgrowth of Utah’s strong growth dynamic and increasing global economic and cultural interconnections. Along with the rest of the U.S., Utah’s population will continue to age. We project that this will be the case for all race and ethnic groups as death and birth rates decrease. Whites[...]
March 2019 Economic Summary
The Utah economy exceeded expectations in 2018, adding a total of 48,500 new jobs over the year. An annual employment growth rate of 3.3% is on par with the state’s long-term average and is among the strongest in the nation. A tightening labor market (3.1 percent unemployment) applied upward pressure on personal income. Annual income per capita increased to $45,174, a 3.9 percent increase from last year.